Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney calls coronavirus testing delays ‘simply inexcusable’

Mick Mulvaney.
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney says he knows it's not "popular to talk about in some Republican circles," but he highlighted the United States' coronavirus testing issues anyway in an op-ed published Monday by CNBC.

In Mulvaney's view, the current economic crisis is public-health driven. For example, he argues the reason people aren't going on vacation is because they're afraid of getting sick, more so than their financial situation. Therefore, he doesn't think Congress' next stimulus package should focus on "ordinary fiscal tools," like sending citizens a check, since that alone won't reinvigorate the economy. "Make people feel safe to go back on an airplane or cruise ship, and they will of their own accord," he wrote.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.