Republicans have not been openly critical, but some governors have been explicit in describing their difficulty in depending on the private sector for medical supplies. Kristi Noem, Republican of South Dakota, grew frustrated as she expressed to the president and members of the task force that state officials had been working unsuccessfully with private suppliers. “I need to understand how you’re triaging supplies,” Ms. Noem said. “We, for two weeks, were requesting reagents for our public health lab from C.D.C., who pushed us to private suppliers who kept canceling orders on us. Since then, it has been used for both the prevention of terrorism and to prepare for natural disasters.

Source: New York Times March 20, 2020 15:43 UTC