The New York Times reported on Thursday that Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner has been put in charge of the federal government’s efforts to manufacture new ventilators after months of inaction.
“The shortage of ventilators has emerged as one of the major criticism of the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus. The need to quickly equip hospitals across the country with tens of thousands more of the devices to treat those most seriously ill with the virus was not anticipated despite the Trump administration’s own projection in a simulation last year that millions of people could be hospitalized,” the Times reported. “And even now, the effort to produce them has been confused and disorganized.”
“At the center of the discussion about how to ramp up the production of ventilators is Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and a senior White House aide, who has told people that he was called in two weeks ago by Vice President Mike Pence to produce more coronavirus test kits and who has now turned his attention to ventilators,” the publication reported.
The newspaper noted Kushner “has been directing officials at FEMA in the effort. Two officials said the suggestion to wait on the General Motors offer came from Col. Patrick Work, who is working at FEMA.”
According to the report, multiple government officials have been worried about ordering too many ventilators and causing a surplus.
After you read this, feel free to scream — as I just did: https://t.co/VepuEqhvtF. pic.twitter.com/SIxcJsi35w
— David Gura (@davidgura) March 27, 2020
"At the center of the discussion about how to ramp up the production of ventilators is Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and a senior White House aide…" https://t.co/m7RxHw7YLg
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 27, 2020
