Making her appearance on "America's Newsroom HQ," McEnany said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. made numerous calls to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who repeatedly inquired about the matter of the hearing. Giving only vague responses about what the subject matter would be, she only revealed that it will be a subcommittee for HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) funding, Which would not ideal for Dr. Fauci since he is at NIH (National Institutes of Health), which is a subdivision of Secretary Alex Azar's HHS, McEnany explained.
So, when they justified the details as to why Dr. Fauci was the right person for this corroboration in the aforesaid hearing, those details were never provided, McEnany added. A House Appropriations Committee spokesman also noted that the White House had stopped Dr. Fauci from testifying as a witness at a subcommittee hearing on the COVID-19 response, which is slated to take place next week.
The White House described the testimony as counterproductive amid the coronavirus pandemic. Answering Anchor Eric Shawn's question about reports that suggest the Democrats brought the former director of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in place of Dr. Fauci, McEnany said it was their decision; however, accused them of not acting in good faith with the administration.
While she noted that the Senate has already given them the plans to social distance and how to do it without jeoparding people's safety, McEnany said the House hasn't done that yet, meaning, they aren't acting in good faith. As far as Democrats claiming that the White House didn't allow Dr. Fauci to testify, McEnany said that wasn't the case, calling it a publicity stunt on the part of Democrats.
On Saturday, President Trump confirmed via a tweet that Dr. Fauci would be testifying before the Senate very soon. He said the Democrats aren't willing to break from the tradition of looking for trouble, accusing them of doing nothing constructive even in times of crisis.
Moreover, Trump said the Democrats do not want to blame China for the plague because it is their cash cow, while China continues blaming Europe for the crisis. CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller responded to the tweet noting that the Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is accusing Nita Lowey of staging a publicity stunt because she asked for testimony from Dr. Anthony Fauci at a hearing on HHS funding.
Knoller wrote in his tweet that McEnany accused Lowey of failing to explain request o White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who approved Dr. Fauci for a Senate hearing.