Jared Kushner put a dozen young volunteers in charge of finding PPE. It went poorly, 1 reports.
The team of private-sector and government allies White House adviser Jared Kushner assembled in March to refill coronavirus-depleted federal stockpiles of masks, gloves, and other personal protective equipment included a dozen or so young volunteers recruited by Kushner from private equity, venture capital, and consulting firms. These volunteers, mostly in their 20s and some straight out of college, "had little to no experience with government procurement procedures or medical equipment," The New York Times reports.
"The nature and scale of the response seemed grossly inadequate," one former volunteer, who sent a whistleblower complaint to the House Oversight Committee on April 8, told the Times. "It was bureaucratic cycles of chaos." The small team worked "12+ hour days, seven days per week, but frankly has little to show for it," the complaint said. Key elements were confirmed by the Times and The Washington Post, which first reported the whistleblower's letter Tuesday afternoon.
The temporary supervisor of the volunteers was Rachael Baitel, a former White House assistant to Ivanka Trump, Kushner's wife. The group was supposed to draw on their deal-making skills to vet and follow up on thousands of tips submitted to FEMA or handed down from higher-ups in Kushner's task force, and Baitel instructed the volunteers to give priority to tips from politically connected "VIPs," tracked on a special spreadsheet, according to the whistleblower and documents seen by the Post and the Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The VIPs who got special attention included Fox News hosts Brian Kilmeade and Jeanine Pirro — who successfully lobbied to have masks delivered to a favored hospital — a former Apprentice contestant who chairs Women for Trump, pro-Trump activist Charlie Kirk, a Pennsylvania dentist who has mingled with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and a California engineer, Yaron Oren-Pines, whose unvetted pledge of 1,000 ventilators led to a $69 million New York State contract debacle. The volunteers blew off a South Carolina doctor who proved he had a line on millions of N95 face masks from China and eventually sent them to state governments and hospitals.
Kushner's effort sidelined seasoned emergency-response officials on the theory that private-sector vim would do a better job than government bureaucrats in an emergency of this scope. "There's an old saying in emergency management — disaster is the wrong time to exchange business cards," Tim Manning, a former deputy administrator at FEMA, told the Times. "And it's absolutely the wrong time to make up new procedures."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strike
Speed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US economy still strong in final preelection report
Speed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strike
Speed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strike
Speed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published