After former President Donald Trump ignored his advice to ramp up the procurement of coronavirus supplies before the United States was overwhelmed by the pandemic, former White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro reportedly took it upon himself to get the job done. While some government officials, including Dr. Rick Bright, the former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency, have spoken admirably about how seriously Navarro took the pandemic, the House subcommittee on the coronavirus outbreak is concerned by his process, The Washington Post reports.
The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), alleges Navarro and other senior White House officials pursued "a haphazard and ineffective approach to procurement in which senior White House officials steered contracts to particular companies without adequate diligence or competition." One of those companies was Phlow, which was incorporated in January 2020 and had never manufactured drugs before. After a push from Navarro, BARDA awarded the firm with a $354 million contract, plus $458 million in options. A letter from the subcommittee explains Navarro was first introduced to Phlow's eventual CEO in November 2019, and the Post reports the company had "won Navarro's favor by making the argument that the United States was too dependent on Chinese manufacturing — a big concern" of his.
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 genetic secrets of South Korea's female free-diversUnder The Radar Unique physiology of 'real-life mermaid' haenyeo women could help treat chronic diseases
-
Democrats: How to rebuild a damaged brandFeature Trump's approval rating is sinking, but so is the Democratic brand
-
Unraveling autismFeature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirementspeed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff displaySpeed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loomSpeed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panelsSpeed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of businessSpeed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pausesSpeed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocksSpeed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor dealSpeed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
