Warren, Sanders question Trump admin over coronavirus tests

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and more than a dozen of their Democratic colleagues sent a letter to Vice President Pence on Tuesday demanding answers over the insufficient availability of coronavirus testing kits.

In the letter, Warren and the other senators questioned why Pence, President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar had made statements proclaiming the availability of tests when in fact many Americans have been unable to get tested at hospitals around the U.S.

“When did key Task Force officials — including Vice President Pence, Secretary Azar, and [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] CDC Director [Robert] Redfield — become aware of delays in developing the CDC-approved tests?” the letter asks. “What is the explanation for the misinformation provided to the public about the availability of COVID-19 tests by (1) President Trump (2) Secretary Azar, and (3) Vice President Pence?”

In particular, the senators faulted Trump for his remarks on March 6, when he told reporters that “anybody who wants a test, gets a test.”

“The Trump Administration has made a series of false promises about the country’s diagnostic capacities, spreading confusing and untrue information about the availability of tests for the general public,” reads the letter.

Warren’s letter was co-signed by Sanders, a 2020 presidential candidate, as well as Democratic senators including Tim Kaine (Va.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Patty Murray (Wash.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio).

The Trump administration has faced sharp criticism from Democrats over the response to the global coronavirus outbreak as well as his own remarks, which have often been at odds with top health experts in the government.