Coronavirus task force whistleblower says volunteers had to pay special attention to Fox News host's supply requests


Jared Kushner's coronavirus task force volunteers in charge of procuring personal protective equipment, such as masks, for virus hot spots were instructed were instructed to prioritize requests from President Trump's friends and supporters, Max Kennedy Jr., one of the volunteers, told The New Yorker.
Kennedy, the 26-year-old grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, said the group had to pay special attention to Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who he said was "particularly aggressive" in demanding masks be shipped to a hospital she favored.
Per The New Yorker, Kennedy — who in April sent an anonymous complaint to Congress detailing what he described as an incompetent White House response to the pandemic — also said the volunteers were told to direct millions of dollars worth of supplies to five pre-selected distributors, and he alleges he was instructed by one of the political appointees who directed the task force to create a model altering the projected number of COVID-19 fatalities because experts' models were "too severe." Kennedy, who has experience working at investment and consulting firms and was planning to take the LSATs, said he declined the assignment, explaining he knew nothing about disease modeling.
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.
But beyond the specific complaints, Kennedy was concerned by the administration's over-reliance on volunteers like himself, which he believed was an attempt by the White House to sidestep government experts. "It was such a mismatch of personnel," he said. Read more at The New Yorker.
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
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.
-
23andMe's bankruptcy isn't just a finance story, it's a potential privacy crisis
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The ancestral testing juggernaut's corporate collapse opens a new — but not wholly unforeseen — front in the battle over who has access to your genetic data
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
US officials share war plans with journalist in group chat
Speed Read Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to a Signal conversation about striking Yemen
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Stephen Graham's best TV and film roles
The Week Recommends From Line of Duty to Adolescence, these are the prolific actor's must-watch projects
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Laurence Fox suspended by GB News after 'unacceptable' Ava Evans comments
Speed Read Broadcaster issues apology after actor goes on a tirade during a live interview with Dan Wootton
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Fox News apologizes to Gold Star family for false story Marine Corps called 'disgusting'
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Tucker Carlson Tonight is being replaced by Fox News Tonight
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Judge delays Fox News-Dominion defamation trial start, reportedly to allow settlement talks
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Judge orders Dominion lawsuit against Fox News to go to trial
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Fox News seeks gag order for producer who claims she was coerced to mislead in Dominion deposition
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Lawsuit documents: After 2020 election, Tucker Carlson said he hates Trump 'passionately'
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Rupert Murdoch gave Jared Kushner 'confidential information' on Biden ads, debate strategy, Dominion says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published