What’s Important
Select Subcommittee Widens COVID Origins Probe: Last week, Republican Whip and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Ranking Member Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.), joined by Select Subcommittee Republican lawmakers, called on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to launch an investigation to determine whether EcoHealth Alliance and its president, Peter Daszak, should be barred from receiving federal grants for unethical conduct.
Biden Fights to Mask Americans While Ending Title 42 Prematurely: Recently a federal judge struck down President Biden’s mask mandate for planes and public transit but Biden’s Justice Department is now set to appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration is set to end Title 42 expulsions on May 23, which allows the federal government to quickly expel illegal immigrants on public health grounds, and is reportedly ending it even earlier.
Psaki Says It’s Fine for VP Harris to Break Biden’s Own CDC Rules: Earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris came into close contact with individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 but then attended multiple events without a mask in violation of the CDC’s guidelines. Psaki justified Harris’ actions by stating “it was an emotional day.”
Biden Blunders
Biden Fights to Mask Americans While Ending Title 42 Prematurely: Recently a federal judge struck down President Biden’s mask mandate for planes and public transit but Biden’s Justice Department is now set to appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration is set to end Title 42 expulsions on May 23, which allows the federal government to quickly expel illegal immigrants on public health grounds. The National Border Patrol Council is warning that the Biden Administration is effectively ending Title 42 prematurely. The Biden Administration continues to seek more COVID restrictions for Americans than for migrants who illegally cross the southern border.
Democrat Hypocrisy Alert
Psaki Says It’s Fine for VP Harris to Break Biden’s Own CDC Rules: Earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris came into close contact with individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 but then attended multiple events without a mask in violation of the CDC’s guidelines. At one of these events, she gave Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson a hug without a face mask. At a White House press briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki defended Vice President Harris for breaking the Biden Administration’s own CDC rules for COVID exposure since “it was an emotional day.” What does Psaki say to the families who could not have weddings and funerals for loved ones because of the CDC’s earlier pandemic guidelines? Those were emotional days. Democrats never play by the rules they set for others.
This Week in SSOCC
Select Subcommittee Widens COVID Origins Probe: Last week, Republican Whip and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Ranking Member Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.), joined by Select Subcommittee Republican lawmakers, called on HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to launch an investigation to determine whether EcoHealth Alliance and its president, Peter Daszak, should be barred from receiving federal grants for unethical conduct. EcoHealth Alliance, a National Institutes of Health grantee, awarded taxpayer funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) to conduct gain of function research on bat coronaviruses. EcoHealth Alliance and Daszak violated the grant terms and potentially engaged in a cover-up of the origins of COVID-19.
Additionally, lawmakers wrote to Dr. Kristian Andersen calling on him to clarify his response to Congress that he did not act to suppress any theory about the origins of COVID-19. A recent Vanity Fair report brings into question the accuracy of Andersen’s assertion and the lawmakers call on him to appear for a transcribed interview to clarify his response. The Republican lawmakers have been seeking answers from Dr. Andersen and other top scientists about why they initially supported the lab leak hypothesis in early 2020 but then suddenly reversed course after speaking with Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
What They’re Saying
Republicans dig in on COVID origins investigation, demand HHS investigation and details on alleged ‘cover-up’ (Fox News)
“House Republicans are digging in on their investigation of COVID-19 origins with a new round of letters out Tuesday seeking transparency and accountability from the Biden administration and scientists. Republican Whip and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Ranking Member Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer, R-Ky., led a letter Tuesday to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra urging him to launch an investigation on whether EcoHealth Alliance and its president, Peter Daszak, should be barred from receiving federal grants for unethical conduct, following new reporting.”
California, New York handled COVID-19 lockdowns the worst, Florida among the best, a new study shows (Fox News)
“A new study has graded states by how well they handled the coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent restrictions and lockdowns, showing a stark contrast between liberal and conservative states. The Committee To Unleash Prosperity study compared state performance on metrics including the economy, education, and mortality from the virus, and examined how states and their respective governments handled the pandemic response. ‘Shutting down their economies and schools was by far the biggest mistake governors and state officials made during COVID, particularly in blue states,’ Steve Moore, co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, told Fox News Digital. ‘We hope the results of this study will persuade governors not to close schools and businesses the next time we have a new virus variant.’”
Member Mentions
House Republican Whip and Select Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve Scalise (R-La.) demands HHS launch an investigation into EcoHealth Alliance.
