House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday announced a new House select committee that would assess how the Trump administration has handled the coronavirus crisis.
Democratic California Rep. Pelosi told reporters that House Majority Whip James Clyburn will be the chairman of the committee, MSNBC reported. The Democratic South Carolina representative recently endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden — just before the former vice president’s primary successes began to materialize.
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Pelosi said the committee will be composed of both Democrats and Republicans. The group will not only examine how the federal government has managed the COVID-19 crisis so far but will provide recommendations on future decisions. (RELATED: REPORT: Pelosi Considering Coronavirus Stimulus Package That Would Offer Tax Rebates To The Wealthy)
“We face a deadly virus and a battered economy with millions of Americans suddenly out of work. Congress has taken an important step in leading this crisis by passing three bills with over $2 trillion in emergency relief. We need to ensure those dollars are spent carefully and effectively,” Pelosi said, according to MSNBC.
The announcement is in apparent response to Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff’s proposal Wednesday that a commission should be established along the same lines of those created after the Pearl Harbor attack and the 9-11 terrorist incidents that assessed the country’s response to those pivotal events. Schiff said the same thing should happen for the coronavirus.
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Although Schiff recommended that the the panel would be “nonpartisan,” Republicans, who remember Schiff’s handling of the impeachment inquiry, are voicing their displeasure. (RELATED: Here’s Video Of Adam Schiff Reportedly Lying To The National Press)
“Make no mistake about Adam Schiff’s real intentions behind launching an investigation into coronavirus: a guise for him to lead another bogus impeachment,” Republican National Committee rapid response director Steve Guest declared in a news release. “Schiff has no ground to stand on. When coronavirus arrived in America, what was Adam Schiff focused on? Wasting time with a bogus impeachment.”