A White House Coronavirus Task Force meeting reportedly devolved into a “confrontation” over the potential use of anti-malarial drugs to treat the coronavirus.
“Drama erupted” between economic adviser Peter Navarro and the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci during a task force meeting in the Situation Room on Saturday, according to a Sunday report from Axios.
The incident began when Commissioner of Food and Drugs Stephen Hahn started discussing hydroxychloroquine as a possible “game-changer” in the fight against the COVID-19 virus. Navarro then began passing out folders of data on the drug.
“And the first words out of his mouth are that the studies that he’s seen, I believe they’re mostly overseas, show ‘clear therapeutic efficacy,'” a source familiar with the conversation said. “Those are the exact words out of his mouth.”
Fauci, however, pushed back against the claim, saying the evidence of the drug’s effectiveness in treating the coronavirus was just anecdotal and that more data is needed. According to another source, Navarro pointed to the folders and said to Fauci, “That’s science, not anecdote.”
Despite Fauci’s public praise of President Trump’s China travel ban, the trade official rose his voice and told Fauci, “You were the one who early on objected to the travel restrictions with China.”
“It was pretty clear that everyone was just trying to get Peter to sit down and stop being so confrontational,” a source told Axios.
The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was able to diffuse the situation, but it left an impression on those present.
“There has never been a confrontation in the task force meetings like the one yesterday,” a person familiar with the argument said. “People speak up and there’s robust debate, but there’s never been a confrontation. Yesterday was the first confrontation.”
Trump at a Sunday press briefing announced that the administration had purchased “a tremendous amount” of hydroxychloroquine, which will be distributed to the states after the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency approval for its use among coronavirus patients.
“We have it stockpiled — about 29 million doses. We have a lot of it. We hope it works,” he said.
The president has touted the drug in the past and did so again during the briefing, despite Fauci’s insistence that there’s no “strong” evidence that the drug can treat the coronavirus. When pressed on their difference of opinion, Trump refused to allow the infectious disease expert to answer the question and ended the briefing.
In response to the report, the White House told Axios, “We don’t comment on meetings in the Situation Room.”
