The White House hit back at Republican suggestions Friday that President Obama should have appointed an Ebola czar with more medical experience, calling Democratic insider Ron Klain the right person to navigate Washington’s bureaucratic maze.
Though the White House admitted that the former chief of staff to Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore is not an “Ebola expert,” they said he was an “implementation expert.”
“This is much broader than just a medical response,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest, calling Ebola efforts a “whole-government” response.
The White House even refused to call Klain a czar, the term used by most in Washington, instead labeling him an “Ebola response coordinator.”
Republicans widely mocked the Obama appointment Friday, saying the president should have picked somebody with experience responding to infectious diseases. And they say Obama could have picked a less partisan figure.
By choosing Klain, Obama essentially signaled that the greatest hindrance to the Ebola response, in his opinion, is organizational issues, not medical capabilities.
Despite listening to GOP demands to appoint a czar, Obama still remains opposed to a travel ban on passengers from West Africa.
Earnest on Friday suggested that such a ban would cause passengers to lie about their travel histories, making the U.S. more susceptible to an Ebola outbreak.
