With 500,000 Lives Lost, GOP Senators Eager to Block Biden’s HHS Pick

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This weekend, the United States hit another devastating pandemic milestone: half a million Americans have reportedly lost their lives to COVID-19. In an early January 2020 warning memo ignored at the time by former President Trump, former economic advisor Peter Navarro named the half-million deaths marker as the pandemic’s “worst-case scenario.”

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are gearing up to fight tooth and nail against the confirmation of President Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra — putting public health at even greater risk. 

Government watchdog Accountable.US released the following statement in response to the news:  

“Experts once considered 500,000 deaths the unthinkable worst-case scenario for the pandemic — and now we’ve surpassed it, with new cases of the virus continuing to climb,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “This is an unspeakable tragedy, and every day that passes without a health secretary in place puts more American lives at risk. After wasting so much precious time, Senate Republicans must swiftly vote to confirm Xavier Becerra to head up the nation’s health department so the team can get to work on vaccinating the public, curbing the spread of COVID-19, and saving lives.” 

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