Deborah Birx Will Testify in Congress About Government’s Botched COVID Response

The Democrat-led House subcommittee investigating the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic will hear from a particularly knowledgeable source on June 23: Deborah Birx, former President Trump’s coronavirus coordinator. According to a House panel spokesperson, Birx will be the first former Trump official to testify publicly in front of the subcommittee about the White House’s early pandemic response. In a statement shared with The Washington Post, the subcommittee said that Birx’s “firsthand knowledge” of the federal government’s missteps will provide insight on how the nation can both prepare for subsequent public health crises and “ensure that our public health institutions are never again compromised by decision makers more concerned with politics than Americans’ health.” In particular, Birx will testify about her claim that the government could have saved 130,000 American lives if it had acted faster and had clearer messaging.