Former White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx to Testify Before Select Subcommittee

Washington, D.C. (June 22, 2022) – TOMORROW, on Thursday, June 23, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Rep. James E. Clyburn, will hold a hybrid hearing with former Trump White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx regarding the federal government's pandemic response.

In advance of tomorrow's hearing, the Select Subcommittee released a staff report detailing the reach and influence of Trump White House Special Advisor Dr. Scott Atlas's dangerous and discredited herd immunity via widespread infection strategy on the Trump Administration's pandemic policies. This report is the first in a series detailing the findings from the Select Subcommittee's investigation into the Trump Administration's rampant political interference with the federal coronavirus response.

The report shows that Dr. Atlas succeeded in weakening federal testing guidance in August 2020 in furtherance of his herd immunity strategy, among other alarming findings. Dr. Birx said that this weakened guidance resulted in a "dramatic decline" in testing during a crucial early stage of the pandemic when no vaccines were available. According to Dr. Birx, more than 130,000 American lives could have been saved after the first wave of the pandemic if the nation had implemented proven mitigation measures.

The Select Subcommittee has uncovered extensive evidence showing that Trump Administration officials engaged in a widespread pattern of political interference in the pandemic response during Dr. Birx's tenure as coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Beyond embracing dangerous theories and weakening public health guidance, the Trump Administration also muzzled public health officials from sharing accurate scientific information with the American people, all with a goal of advancing the former president's perceived political interests.

As the Biden Administration continues to lead the country beyond the coronavirus crisis and restore Americans' trust in our public health agencies, the Select Subcommittee will hear Dr. Birx's firsthand knowledge about what went wrong during the previous Administration in order to determine what corrective steps are necessary to better prepare our nation for any future public health crisis and to ensure that our public health institutions are never again compromised by decision makers more concerned with politics than Americans' health.