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Top Trump administration officials on Wednesday cut short their testimony at a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on the response to the coronavirus, with the White House saying they were needed at a meeting focused on the spreading virus.

Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said at the start of the hearing that it would end an hour and a half early because President Trump called an “emergency” meeting with the witnesses, who are leading the government’s coronavirus response.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were testifying at the hearing. Both are members of the coronavirus task force.

“This morning we were informed that President Trump and Vice President Pence have called our witnesses to an emergency meeting at the White House,” Maloney said. “We don't know the details, just that it is extremely urgent.”

At about 11:30 a.m., she ended questioning from lawmakers, saying she received notice from the White House that the witnesses needed to leave “now.”

“I don't know what's going on at the White House,” she said.

“There seems to be a great deal of confusion and a lack of coordination at the White House. I hope this does not reflect on the broader response to this crisis.”

A White House official told The Hill that the meeting was scheduled on Tuesday “and is part of the administration’s ongoing whole-of-government response to the coronavirus.”

Two people familiar with the matter questioned whether the meeting Maloney referenced was in fact an emergency, and it was unclear if it was separate from the daily 4 p.m. meetings that have been led by Pence.

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Originally posted by pianojuggler:
Next, I-1 will prohibit executive branch members from testifying before Congress about coronavirus... by claiming executive privilege.

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Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday he was unaware of any indication from his agency that physical barriers along America’s borders would help halt the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. — contradicting an assertion President Donald Trump made earlier in the day.

Appearing before House lawmakers to testify about the public health crisis and the White House’s budget request for his agency, Redfield was asked by Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) whether the CDC’s recommendations for combating the coronavirus addressed whether “structural barriers” at the borders “would be of any use in mitigating” the growing outbreak.

“Not that I’ve seen,” Redfield replied.

As the federal government has struggled to mount a cohesive response to the coronavirus threat over the past few weeks, Trump has repeatedly promoted the administration’s move in late January to bar entry from foreign nationals who had recently been in China and institute a mandatory two-week quarantine for U.S. citizens returning from the epicenter of the outbreak.

On Tuesday morning, Trump claimed his campaign trail pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would also aid in containing the coronavirus, tweeting the structure is “Going up fast” and “We need the Wall more than ever!”

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President Donald Trump is reluctant to declare an expansive emergency to combat the escalating coronavirus outbreak, fearful of stoking panic with such a dramatic step, according to three people familiar with the situation.....

“The president isn’t persuaded because [an emergency declaration] contradicts his message that this is the flu,” said a Republican who speaks to Trump....

There’s no deadline for a decision, but one of the people familiar with the talks said the task force will not give Trump its final verdict until Jared Kushner, the president’s senior adviser and son-in-law, finishes his research and comes to a conclusion himself.

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“Everything is about the election now,” said a former Trump adviser. “The economy is strong underneath but the market is the superficial barometer people watch. And if it’s all over the place, people lose confidence.”

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Jared Kushner, the president’s senior adviser and son-in-law, finishes his research and comes to a conclusion himself.