House Minority Whip Steve Scalise called for World Health Organization to remove its director-general following the body’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“If WHO wants to restore their credibility around the world, the most important first step they can take is by removing Dr. Tedros as their head. But that would just be the beginning of restoring credibility,” Scalise told the Daily Caller. “I think they would then need to prove that they’re trying to bring somebody in who’s a respected medical professional and not somebody who will cover for failed regimes like the communist Chinese government or even if you look at other outbreaks like Ebola for trying to cover for the countries that started those diseases.”
Scalise added, “So he needs to go.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been the organization’s leader since 2017 and has been widely criticized for being too lenient on China for reportedly covering up the dangers of the virus, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan.
Tedros was also accused of covering up three cholera epidemics that occurred in Ethiopia while he was the health minister.
President Trump has been critical of the WHO, and this week announced he was suspending funding to the organization.
“Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China’s lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death,” Trump said.
Critics slammed Trump’s move as dangerous during the time of a global health crisis.
Tedros, earlier this month, warned against politicizing the virus.
“Please quarantine politicizing COVID,” he said about Trump’s comments. “We will have many body bags in front of us if we don’t behave.”
Scalise suggested it is China, enabled by the WHO, that has not been held accountable.
“[WHO] also need to bring somebody in who can actually reestablish credibility at WHO before they’re going to be received properly by the rest of the world, especially by the United States,” he said.
