An explosive Washington Post report details White House trade adviser Peter Navarro’s long history of disregarding the rules and basic standards of workplace behavior, including a previously undisclosed 2018 investigation after repeated complaints from subordinates about his verbal abuse. His behavior, which extends to his dealings with the press, other federal officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci, and industry allies, has alienated him even as his responsibilities within the administration have grown in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the report says. “He loves to threaten people, and he’s very good at that,” one source told the newspaper.

In one example, Navarro reportedly told Michael Pillsbury, head of the Hudson Institute, a conservative D.C. think tank that he was “going to rip” his “fucking throat out.” The Trump aide was reportedly upset that Pillsbury had gently criticized him in a Fox News interview. The report also cites two of Navarro’s recent bungled pandemic response-related transactions: a government contract for nearly 500,000 Philips ventilators that were overpaid by over $500 million, according to a House oversight subcommittee, and a government loan funding Eastman Kodak’s potential venture into pharmaceuticals, a deal that fell apart as the company came under scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission.