Clyburn Issues Statement on New Watchdog Report on Misconduct in Trump Administration’s Coronavirus Celebrity Ad Campaign

Washington, D.C. (March 29, 2022) – Today, Rep. James E. Clyburn, Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, issued a statement on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the $265 million coronavirus public relations campaign led by the Trump Administration’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which has been the subject of a Select Subcommittee joint inquiry into Trump Administration political appointees’ plans to use taxpayer dollars to advance a partisan political agenda and direct taxpayer money to their friends and allies.

The report indicates that GAO took the extraordinary step of making a referral to the HHS Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for potential legal action in light of “a potential pre-existing business relationship between an ASPA official involved in the public education campaign and one of the suggested subcontractors.”  The Select Subcommittee previously released evidence showing that Trump Administration officials identified “preferred” subcontractors for the campaign—at least one of whom had a pre-existing business relationship with then-ASPA Michael Caputo. 

Chairman Clyburn said about the report: 

“Today’s GAO report confirms that as the CDC was preparing for the most complex vaccination campaign in the nation’s history, Trump Administration officials wasted millions of taxpayer dollars from its budget on a celebrity vanity campaign that scrutinized participants’ political loyalties to the then-president and may have enriched a close ally of a senior official.  This is yet another instance of the Trump Administration’s pandemic response prioritizing politics over public health. 

“The Select Subcommittee will continue examining this matter closely, and we await appropriate action by DOJ and the HHS Office of Inspector General.  Those responsible for any illegality, corruption, or other wrongdoing in this inappropriate political campaign must be held accountable.”