SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Members of National Nurses United, the largest nurses union in the United States, protest in front of the White House April 21, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
White House to Oust DHHS Inspector General Whose Report Drew Trump Fury
"Don't let anyone tell you that the Trump administration is wholly incompetent. They are really good at undermining independent oversight and democratic norms."
May 02, 2020
President Donald Trump's attacks on oversight continued late Friday as he announced his intention to replace the official serving as the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General.
According to the White House announcement, Trump wants to have Jason Weida, who's currently serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney in Boston, take on the role currently filled by acting HHS Inspector General Christi A. Grimm. Her office's report (pdf) last month--which reflected hundreds of hospitals' reports of "widespread shortages" of personal protective equipment and "severe shortages of testing supplies" contributing to difficulties in responding to the coronavirus pandemic--left Trump fuming.
"Once again the President retaliates against an acting Inspector General whose reports he doesn't like," Donald K. Sherman, deputy director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), wrote Saturday on Twitter.
"Don't let anyone tell you that the Trump administration is wholly incompetent," Sherman added. "They are REALLY good at undermining independent oversight and democratic norms. Perhaps the best ever. Especially during The #CoronavirusPandemic."
As the New York Times reported Friday,
The nomination was the latest effort by Mr. Trump against watchdog offices around his administration that have defied him. In recent weeks, he fired an inspector general involved in the inquiry that led to the president's impeachment, nominated a White House aide to another key inspector general post overseeing virus relief spending and moved to block still another inspector general from taking over as chairman of a pandemic spending oversight panel.
The DHHS inspector general's office released a report on April 6, which, as Politico reported, "casts a different light on conditions Trump administration officials have portrayed as improving thanks to their response to the pandemic." The document reflects the results of a March 23-27 survey from 323 U.S. hospitals.
The key takeaway, according to the report:
Hospitals reported that their most significant challenges centered on testing and caring for patients with known or suspected COVID-19 and keeping staff safe. Hospitals also reported substantial challenges maintaining or expanding their facilities' capacity to treat patients with COVID-19. Hospitals described specific challenges, mitigation strategies, and needs for assistance related to personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, staffing, supplies, and durable equipment; maintaining or expanding facility capacity; and financial concerns.
Trump lashed out at press when asked about the report. He described the report as "just wrong," said the survey results "could be [Grimm's] opinion," and suggested the findings reflected poorly on the administration because she was Obama appointee. Grimm has been the acting inspector general since January 2020 and began work at Office of Inspector General in 1999, according to her government bio.
Daniel Levinson, who resigned last year from his 15-year role as the inspector general of DHHS, later praised Grimm for having "a sterling reputation, earned over many years, for sound independent judgment."
Esquire's Charles Pierce last month suggested Grimm's firing was likely imminent after her report "pretty much lit the federal response to the pandemic on fire."
"The easiest way to get fired at Camp Runamuck is to do your job the way it's supposed to be done," he wrote, "regardless of how vividly it illustrates the clown college that is this administration*."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump's attacks on oversight continued late Friday as he announced his intention to replace the official serving as the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General.
According to the White House announcement, Trump wants to have Jason Weida, who's currently serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney in Boston, take on the role currently filled by acting HHS Inspector General Christi A. Grimm. Her office's report (pdf) last month--which reflected hundreds of hospitals' reports of "widespread shortages" of personal protective equipment and "severe shortages of testing supplies" contributing to difficulties in responding to the coronavirus pandemic--left Trump fuming.
"Once again the President retaliates against an acting Inspector General whose reports he doesn't like," Donald K. Sherman, deputy director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), wrote Saturday on Twitter.
"Don't let anyone tell you that the Trump administration is wholly incompetent," Sherman added. "They are REALLY good at undermining independent oversight and democratic norms. Perhaps the best ever. Especially during The #CoronavirusPandemic."
As the New York Times reported Friday,
The nomination was the latest effort by Mr. Trump against watchdog offices around his administration that have defied him. In recent weeks, he fired an inspector general involved in the inquiry that led to the president's impeachment, nominated a White House aide to another key inspector general post overseeing virus relief spending and moved to block still another inspector general from taking over as chairman of a pandemic spending oversight panel.
The DHHS inspector general's office released a report on April 6, which, as Politico reported, "casts a different light on conditions Trump administration officials have portrayed as improving thanks to their response to the pandemic." The document reflects the results of a March 23-27 survey from 323 U.S. hospitals.
The key takeaway, according to the report:
Hospitals reported that their most significant challenges centered on testing and caring for patients with known or suspected COVID-19 and keeping staff safe. Hospitals also reported substantial challenges maintaining or expanding their facilities' capacity to treat patients with COVID-19. Hospitals described specific challenges, mitigation strategies, and needs for assistance related to personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, staffing, supplies, and durable equipment; maintaining or expanding facility capacity; and financial concerns.
Trump lashed out at press when asked about the report. He described the report as "just wrong," said the survey results "could be [Grimm's] opinion," and suggested the findings reflected poorly on the administration because she was Obama appointee. Grimm has been the acting inspector general since January 2020 and began work at Office of Inspector General in 1999, according to her government bio.
Daniel Levinson, who resigned last year from his 15-year role as the inspector general of DHHS, later praised Grimm for having "a sterling reputation, earned over many years, for sound independent judgment."
Esquire's Charles Pierce last month suggested Grimm's firing was likely imminent after her report "pretty much lit the federal response to the pandemic on fire."
"The easiest way to get fired at Camp Runamuck is to do your job the way it's supposed to be done," he wrote, "regardless of how vividly it illustrates the clown college that is this administration*."
President Donald Trump's attacks on oversight continued late Friday as he announced his intention to replace the official serving as the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General.
According to the White House announcement, Trump wants to have Jason Weida, who's currently serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney in Boston, take on the role currently filled by acting HHS Inspector General Christi A. Grimm. Her office's report (pdf) last month--which reflected hundreds of hospitals' reports of "widespread shortages" of personal protective equipment and "severe shortages of testing supplies" contributing to difficulties in responding to the coronavirus pandemic--left Trump fuming.
"Once again the President retaliates against an acting Inspector General whose reports he doesn't like," Donald K. Sherman, deputy director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), wrote Saturday on Twitter.
"Don't let anyone tell you that the Trump administration is wholly incompetent," Sherman added. "They are REALLY good at undermining independent oversight and democratic norms. Perhaps the best ever. Especially during The #CoronavirusPandemic."
As the New York Times reported Friday,
The nomination was the latest effort by Mr. Trump against watchdog offices around his administration that have defied him. In recent weeks, he fired an inspector general involved in the inquiry that led to the president's impeachment, nominated a White House aide to another key inspector general post overseeing virus relief spending and moved to block still another inspector general from taking over as chairman of a pandemic spending oversight panel.
The DHHS inspector general's office released a report on April 6, which, as Politico reported, "casts a different light on conditions Trump administration officials have portrayed as improving thanks to their response to the pandemic." The document reflects the results of a March 23-27 survey from 323 U.S. hospitals.
The key takeaway, according to the report:
Hospitals reported that their most significant challenges centered on testing and caring for patients with known or suspected COVID-19 and keeping staff safe. Hospitals also reported substantial challenges maintaining or expanding their facilities' capacity to treat patients with COVID-19. Hospitals described specific challenges, mitigation strategies, and needs for assistance related to personal protective equipment (PPE), testing, staffing, supplies, and durable equipment; maintaining or expanding facility capacity; and financial concerns.
Trump lashed out at press when asked about the report. He described the report as "just wrong," said the survey results "could be [Grimm's] opinion," and suggested the findings reflected poorly on the administration because she was Obama appointee. Grimm has been the acting inspector general since January 2020 and began work at Office of Inspector General in 1999, according to her government bio.
Daniel Levinson, who resigned last year from his 15-year role as the inspector general of DHHS, later praised Grimm for having "a sterling reputation, earned over many years, for sound independent judgment."
Esquire's Charles Pierce last month suggested Grimm's firing was likely imminent after her report "pretty much lit the federal response to the pandemic on fire."
"The easiest way to get fired at Camp Runamuck is to do your job the way it's supposed to be done," he wrote, "regardless of how vividly it illustrates the clown college that is this administration*."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy