But senior administration officials have criticized Mr. Azar for what they believe was a decision to leave key health figures off the task force early on, particularly Dr. Stephen Hahn, the F.D.A. commissioner and an accomplished oncologist, and Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency in charge of health care for tens of millions of older and poor Americans, absences the officials attributed to petty turf wars. A health and human services official defended Mr. Azar, saying that the department included the Medicare agency and the F.D.A. In coronavirus meetings well before the two joined the task force. Ms. Verma, who has feuded so intensely with Mr. Azar that it led to an intervention from Mr. Trump, was a top Indiana health official during Mr. Pence’s time as governor in the state, as was Dr. Jerome Adams, the surgeon general, another new member of the task force.
Grogan, the White House Domestic Policy Council director who has feuded with Mr. Azar over drug policy, and Larry Kudlow, the president’s top economic adviser, have irritated some health officials over comments they made about the potential economic impacts of virus containment. At one point early in the crisis, while the president was at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Grogan tried to consolidate coronavirus work within the Domestic Policy Council, which the National Security Council had taken the lead on at the White House, irking health officials.
At times the internal tensions have broken out in the open. In an Oval Office meeting last week, Mr. Trump was told that Dr. Redfield had Politico reporters about a looming shortage in materials the CDC Uses to extract genetic material from patient samples.
Trump asked about the supply problem, Mr. Azar turned to his C.D.C. chief and asked whether he was going to answer the president, according to three senior administration officials who heard about the testy exchange.
In an implicit rebuke of Dr. Redfield’s testing oversight, Mr. Azar announced on Friday that the assistant secretary for health, Adm. Brett P. Giroir, would oversee the federal government’s revived testing efforts, with Dr. Redfield and Dr. Hahn reporting up to him. Azar has hardly escaped Mr. Trump’s criticism. The president has complained about Mr. Azar’s television appearances, and prefers to see Ms. Verma, who has been jostling for a more prominent position on the task force, giving interviews, people familiar with the discussions said.
As the threat to the United States from the coronavirus became more acute, congressional Republicans urged Mr. Trump for a more aggressive response. Mr. Trump considered Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor whom Mr. Kushner has repeatedly sought to block from the administration, and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the F.D.A., for a role as “czar,” but he turned to Mr. Pence.
The choice was initially denounced by the president’s critics, who thought Mr. Pence would simply affirm the president’s desire to play down the looming threat. But some of those critics and several governors grappling with virus outbreaks have changed their mind about Mr. Pence, who has given near-daily briefings and, they said, has become a reassuring presence even as Mr. Trump has intermittently tried to retake the stage. Still, Mr. Pence has his own critics: At least one White House adviser privately urged people outside the administration to go on television and criticize Mr. Pence and his aides. But Mr. Pence tried to navigate the internal dynamics. And then Mr. Kushner stepped in.
Kushner’s early involvement with dealing with the virus was in advising the president that the media’s coverage exaggerated the threat. But when Mr. Pence’s chief of staff asked him to help merge the Pence and Trump communications operations because the two-person shop in the vice president’s office found itself overwhelmed and trying to keep up, Mr. Kushner, long critical of the White House communications shop, tried to supplement the vice president’s team with other aides. One of them was Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, who recently rejoined the administration as Mr. Kushner’s aide.
But Mr. Kushner also sought to take on a more expansive role for himself despite his lack of knowledge on the topic and without talking to most of the task force members or public health experts. . Kushner’s involvement has also introduced a new but familiar face at the Department of Health and Human Services: Adam Boehler, a close friend of Mr. Kushner, a former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services employee and the head of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. Mr. Kushner dispatched Mr. Boehler to work with the department in its
renewed efforts to increase testing, a move that Mr. Azar told associates he welcomed. . Kushner’s influence was immediately felt. He urged his father-in-law to go ahead with a ban on some travel from Europe and to declare a national emergency, after Mr. Trump had dithered and second-guessed himself for agreeing to it. He got executives at several pharmaceutical corporations to agree to help with mobilized testing efforts, and has pushed for an increase in medical supplies to hospitals.
But after Mr. Trump delivered an error-ridden Oval Office address last week, the president followed it with an appearance Friday in the Rose Garden in which he said Google had developed a coronavirus testing website that did not exist. Mr. Kushner was deeply involved in both efforts, and had sold his father-in-law on the website as a smart concept.
By Sunday evening, Mr. Trump was raging to aides that the press coverage was terrible after the promised national website failed to materialize. And on Monday, after Mr. Pence had been praised for his calm demeanor, Mr. Trump decided to answer questions from reporters himself.
“They’re working hand in hand, ”Mr. Trump said in a White House news conference, flanked by members of the task force. “I think they’re doing really a great job.” As for his own performance during the crisis? “I’d rate it a , ”Mr. Trump said.
Updated March
, from the common cold to lung lesions and pneumonia. (How contagious is the virus?) It seems to (spread very easily) from person to person, especially in homes, hospitals and other confined spaces. The pathogen can travel through the air, enveloped in tiny respiratory droplets that are produced when a sick person breathes, talks, coughs or sneezes. (Where has the virus spread?) The virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has sickened more than, (in in at least (countries and more than 6, have died. The spread has slowed in China but is gaining speed in Europe and (the United States) . World Health Organization officials said the outbreak qualifies as a pandemic. (What symptoms should I look out for? Symptoms, which can take between (two to , include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Milder cases may resemble the flu or a bad cold, but people may be able to pass on the virus even before they develop symptoms. (How do I keep myself and others safe?) (Washing your hands) Frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick and (avoiding touching your face.) (How can I prepare for a possible outbreak?) (Keep a) – day supply of essential medicines. Get a flu shot. Have essential household items on hand. Have a support system in place for elderly family members. (What if I’m traveling?) (The State Department) has issued a global Level 3 health advisory telling United States citizens to “reconsider travel” to all countries because of the worldwide effects of the coronavirus. This is the department’s second-highest advisory. (How long will it take to develop a treatment or vaccine? Several drugs are being tested , and some initial findings are expected soon. A vaccine to stop the spread is still at least a year away.
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