Susan Collins: Trump should ‘step back’ from coronavirus messaging

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said public health officials, not President Trump, should lead the administration’s messaging on the coronavirus.

Collins, speaking to reporters in Maine, said the president should “step back” from the administration’s public coronavirus messaging, which she characterized as “inconsistent” so far.

“I would like the president to step back and appoint one of our public health officials to be the spokesman as we go through dealing with this novel virus,” Collins told reporters, according to the Portland Press Herald.

She added that “it is very important that health professionals be out front and that there be a consistent message.”

Collins suggested that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, be appointed to lead the administration’s messaging. Fauci has testified publicly and met with lawmakers privately, and is widely respected on both sides of the aisle.

Trump has come under criticism for his handling of the coronavirus, including a slow and spotty rollout of testing. Senators raised the issue about the lack of widespread testing with administration officials during a briefing on Thursday.

Collins’s comments on Friday came before a Rose Garden press conference in which Trump declared a national emergency that allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to tap into billions of dollars and mobilize personnel more quickly to help state and local agencies and leaders respond.

Trump also said he would waive interest on federal student loans “until further notice,” and that the Department of Energy would buy up crude oil for storage in U.S. reserves.