New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) slammed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday, criticizing the federal agency for “eroding trust” with the American public with confused messaging about the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the wake of an external review that found issues at the CDC, Sununu told “Fox News Sunday” host Trace Gallagher that the agency has “been constantly backtracking” on guidance about the pandemic for the past two years.
“Did we really need a taxpayer-funded external review to determine that the CDC is all over the place?” Sununu asked. “The only good takeaway here is they’re acknowledging it.”
Last week, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky announced a series of internal changes at the agency after the review from the Department of Health and Human Services, which noted that public health experts have taken too long publish data and have failed to be transparent.
The review came after the CDC faced criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for its public health guidance throughout the pandemic.
Sununu on Sunday said that he and other governors listened to the CDC’s guidance during the height of the pandemic but ultimately decided what was best for their citizens.
The New Hampshire governor said the word “science” is commonly understood to imply that “we know what’s happening, and here’s the response that we need.”
“You cannot come back out and say something totally different down the road, because, most importantly, we don’t want people to have no trust in the CDC,” he said. “We don’t want that, but unfortunately that’s where we are today.”