Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar called out CNN on Friday evening after the news outlet reported that he had resigned from his cabinet position with less than a week left in President Donald Trump’s term in office.
“Contrary to the CNN chyron, I am still here serving the American people at HHS,” said Azar. “I believe it is my duty to help ensure a smooth transition to President-elect Biden’s team during the pandemic and will remain as Secretary through January 20.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Contrary to the <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNN</a> chyron, I am still here serving the American people at HHS. I believe it is my duty to help ensure a smooth transition to President-elect Biden’s team during the pandemic and will remain as Secretary through January 20. <a href="https://t.co/zXe1y2om1k">pic.twitter.com/zXe1y2om1k</a>
— Secretary Alex Azar (@SecAzar) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecAzar/status/1350276269942984705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
A CNN Chyron on Anderson Cooper’s show read: “HHS Secretary Azar Resigns And Cites DC Violence; Says Capitol Hill Riots ‘Were An Assault On Our Democracy.’” It&#8217;s unclear if the network aired other chyrons suggesting Azar had resigned.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
HHS Secretary Alex Azar has resigned with only five days left on the job.
He should have resigned months ago for his failed leadership on the coronavirus. <a href="https://t.co/bREz4idOKo">pic.twitter.com/bREz4idOKo</a>
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) <a href="https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1350261509734223874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
While Azar did submit a resignation letter, he followed up his CNN call-out tweet by saying that similar letters are filed by “every other political appointee.” Azar also said that his resignation won&#8217;t take effect until 12:00pm on January 20, 2021, when President-elect Joe Biden will assume office as the 46th president of the United States.
In his letter to the president, Azar invoked Trump administration initiatives aimed at advancing the U.S., such as combating the COVID-19 pandemic and improving rural health care. However, Azar also warned Trump that his post-election rhetoric and the recent attack on the Capitol building threatened to “tarnish” his own accomplishments as president.
“I implore you to continue to condemn unequivocally any form of violence, to demand that no one attempt to disrupt the inaugural activities in Washington or elsewhere, and continue to support unreservedly the peaceful and orderly transition of power on January 20, 2021,” wrote Azar in the letter to Trump, which was dated January 12.
Other Trump administration officials have referenced the attack on the Capitol building in resignation letters more explicitly, including former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, both of whom were early members of Trump’s cabinet. 
“We should be highlighting and celebrating your Administration’s many accomplishments on behalf of the American people,” DeVos wrote in a letter to the president in the wake of the Capitol attack. “Instead, we are left to clean up the mess caused by violent protestors overrunning the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to undermine the people’s business. That behavior was unconscionable for our country. There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me.”

HHS Secretary Azar Testifies On Coronavirus Response Before House

HHS Secretary Calls Out CNN For Resignation Chyron, Says He’s Staying Until Inauguration

Alex Azar

On Sunday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar appeared on CNN’s “<a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2006/28/sotu.01.html">State of the Union</a>” with host Jake Tapper to discuss several issues pertaining to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
During the segment, Tapper asked Azar about the example President Trump sets by not wearing a face mask in public, citing Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who previously stated that he wishes the president would wear a face covering.
“You talked about the importance of wearing masks. Don&#8217;t you think it undermines the message that you are trying to give, that the surgeon general is trying to give, the Drs. Birx and Fauci are trying to give, when President Trump not only refuses to wear a mask publicly, but he makes fun of people who wear masks, and also, he holds these rallies where no one, no one is social distancing, and no one is wearing a mask?” Tapper asked. “Doesn&#8217;t that undermine the message that you are trying to give?”
Azar replied that as HHS secretary, he is relaying the message from the Trump administration on how to safely reopen, including advising social distancing and wearing face masks when necessary.
“In the last several weeks, we have seen people engage in mass gatherings for any number of political and First Amendment reasons that are very important as part of our civic fabric,” Azar added. “And I&#8217;m not going to comment on those aspects.”
The HHS secretary then encouraged anyone who would engage in protests to “take appropriate precautions.”
After claiming that CNN has been advising protesters to social distance and wear masks, Tapper pressed Azar on President Trump’s rallies:
<blockquote>It seems that indoor activity is much more dangerous, potentially, and yet the president continues to have these rallies where, again, not only does he not wear a mask, but no one on stage with him does, and none of his supporters do. And, frankly, I worry about his supporters going into these indoor rallies, not social distancing and not wearing masks. Even though you are saying that they should be, the president and his campaign are not telling them to do so.</blockquote>
Azar pushed back, noting that the president and vice president are tested often, as are those who surround them, for COVID-19, adding that the administration’s “consistent” messaging has been to “assess your individual circumstances &#8230; and then assess the type of activity that you&#8217;re engaging in.”
“You have got to take individual responsibility,” Azar stated.
The HHS secretary continued, stressing that current circumstances are different than “several months ago” in terms of “hospital capacity,” PPE, and “therapeutics.”
Tapper conceded that we are indeed in a different place than we were before. However, the host mentioned to Azar that hospital capacity in states like Arizona seems to be a developing concern, and that while Azar and the team have engaged in a unified message, the president and vice president seem to project a different message.
“They are not out there saying that masks are important; they are not out there demonstrating the importance of social distancing,” Tapper stated. “They are holding rallies in which individuals are not social distancing at all.”
Tapper also asked Azar if large gatherings at the Republican National Convention in Florida would be wise.
Azar countered, telling Tapper that the team is “on the phone with the hospitals in Arizona, Texas, California, Florida every day, measuring their PPE supplies and their reserves,” and that “in Arizona, 15% of hospitalizations in-patient are from COVID – the rest of their capacity is consumed with other hospital uses and elective procedures.”
“And you&#8217;re going to see governors and hospitals slowing down on elective procedures to make capacity. We will ensure that Americans who need hospital beds have hospital beds,” Azar continued.
“[It’s] very important that we rely on data. We&#8217;re following this at the micro level, the county level, the hospital level,” said the HHS secretary.
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oa-X6vzkO4g" width="720" height="385" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Azar and Trump

Tapper Takes HHS Secretary Azar To Task Over Trump’s Mask ‘Message’

COVID

Donald Trump

As part of its operation “Operation Warp Speed,” which is intended to create a safe, effective vaccine for the coronavirus widely available to Americans by 2021, the U.S. government will pay as much as $1.2 billion so a vaccine developed in England could be available by October.
The funds given to AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s Jenner Institute will help pay for a 30,000-person vaccine trial in the U.S. to begin this summer as well as the capacity to make at least 300 million doses. Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services secretary, <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/05/21/trump-administration-accelerates-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-to-be-available-beginning-in-october.html">stated</a>:
<blockquote>This contract with AstraZeneca is a major milestone in Operation Warp Speed’s work toward a safe, effective, widely available vaccine by 2021. Getting a vaccine to the American public as soon as possible is one part of President Trump’s multi-faceted strategy for safely reopening our country and bringing life back to normal, which is essential to Americans’ physical and mental well-being in so many ways. The Trump Administration is making multiple major investments in developing and manufacturing promising vaccines long before they’re approved so that a successful vaccine will reach the American people without a day wasted.</blockquote>
“The vaccine in question was developed by the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute and is one of a small group of candidates already being tested in humans. Others include vaccines from <a href="https://quotes.wsj.com/PFE">Pfizer</a> Inc.and <a href="https://quotes.wsj.com/MRNA">Moderna</a> Inc. AstraZeneca, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/oxford-university-astrazeneca-join-forces-for-coronavirus-vaccine-11588249734?mod=article_inline">under a licensing deal with Oxford</a>, has responsibility for manufacturing the university’s vaccine, and has promised to sell the vaccine without making a profit during the pandemic,” <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-invest-1-2-billion-to-secure-potential-coronavirus-vaccine-from-astrazeneca-oxford-university-11590063053?mod=searchresults&amp;page=1&amp;pos=4">The Wall Street Journal</a> (WSJ) reported.
The AstraZeneca deal is not the only deal the U.S. government has made to expedite the development of a vaccine; <a href="https://quotes.wsj.com/JNJ">Johnson &amp; Johnson</a> received $456 million to increase production of its potential vaccine to 300 million doses; Moderna received $483 million for a similar reason. WSJ cautioned, “Many promising drugs and vaccines falter during clinical trials.”
Oxford has already begun testing its vaccine on people; an 1,100-person study began in April, and if its results look promising, U.K. trial will test roughly 10,000 participants starting in June. The Journal noted:
<blockquote>Its vaccine has progressed quickly, in part because it uses a technology that has been deployed in earlier vaccines developed by the university. It uses an inactivated chimpanzee virus containing the genetic sequence for the “spike protein” found on the new coronavirus.
In a small animal study, not yet peer-reviewed, it appeared to stop the virus from spreading to the lungs, protecting the inoculated monkeys from developing pneumonia. It was unclear whether the vaccine stopped infection entirely, however, as the vaccinated monkeys tested positive for virus in their noses.</blockquote>
Bloomberg News reported, &#8220;A smaller part of the trial will expand the age range of testing to children from 5 to 12 years old and adults 56 and older, according to a <a title="Link to website" href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-05-22-oxford-covid-19-vaccine-begin-phase-iiiii-human-trials" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">statement</a>. The other, larger stage will test the vaccine’s effectiveness in volunteers 18 and older.&#8221; Bloomberg added, &#8220;Adult subjects in the studies will be randomly chosen to receive one or two doses of the Oxford candidate or an already licensed vaccine against meningococcus for comparison. The volunteers will be recruited across the U.K. and will record their reactions in an e-diary and attend some follow-up visits. Some will be given swabs for taking samples at home.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

President Trump Meets With His Cabinet At The White House

U.S. Gives $1.2 Billion To U.K. Attempt At Vaccine, 300 Million Doses Could Be Ready By October

Oxford University

President Trump blasted &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; for airing what he described as an &#8220;incorrect&#8221; interview with &#8220;fake whistleblower&#8221; Dr. Rick Bright, who says he was ousted from his position as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for political reasons.
In the interview with host Norah O&#8217;Donnell, Bright, a &#8220;whistleblower&#8221; who claimed last week in front of a House subcommittee that the Trump administration pressured officials to push hydroxychloroquine and that he was ignored after warning about shortages of some medical equipment, again criticized the Trump administration&#8217;s handling of the pandemic.
“The best scientists that we have in our government who are working really hard to try to figure this out aren’t getting that clear, cohesive leadership, strategic plan message yet,” said Bright, as reported by <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-calls-whistleblower-a-creep-and-lashes-out-at-norah-odonnell-for-60-minutes-interview/">Mediaite</a>. “Until they get that, it’s still gonna be chaotic.”
As <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/13/rick-bright-vaccine-chief-coronavirus-254127">Politico</a> reported last week, while Bright says he was ousted from his position with BARDA by the administration because he pushed back against the promotion of hydroxychloroquine, &#8220;some colleagues say Bright’s complaint leaves out the full context for the pivotal malaria drug episode, which two current and two former officials say paints a murkier picture of Bright’s claims.&#8221;
<blockquote>Some of his allegations about department decisions on Covid-19 don’t match officials’ statements or the public record. And Bright’s central claim that he was ousted for battling Trump appointees over science is less than certain given that some of his own staff spent months raising concerns about his leadership, including a complaint filed by a person in Bright’s office last summer.</blockquote>
Ahead of Bright&#8217;s testimony in front of a subcommittee — <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/whistleblower-rick-bright-testifies-to-anna-eshoos-committee-a-company-in-her-district-got-110-million-from-agency-he-ran">chaired by a close ally of Bright</a> — Trump said the &#8220;so-called&#8221; whistleblower is simply a &#8220;disgruntled employee&#8221; who is widely &#8220;not liked or respected&#8221; by people with whom he has worked.
“I don’t know the so-called Whistleblower Rick Bright, never met him or even heard of him, but to me he is a disgruntled employee, not liked or respected by people I spoke to and who, with his attitude, should no longer be working for our government!” Trump tweeted ahead of Bright&#8217;s testimony Thursday.
On Sunday, Trump took aim at CBS for airing the interview with Bright, specifically calling out O&#8217;Donnell and Shari Redstone, chairwoman of ViacomCBS. He also made sure that Health and Human Services Sec. Alex Azar knew that Bright was &#8220;trashing him on T.V.&#8221; and that Maine Sen. Susan Collins was witnessing what was happening with &#8220;this whole Whistleblower racket.&#8221;
&#8220;[60 Minutes] &amp; third place anchor, [Norah O&#8217;Donnell], are doing everything in their power to demean our Country, much to the benefit of the Radical Left Democrats,&#8221; Trump wrote in a tweet thread Sunday (posts below). &#8220;Tonight they put on yet another Fake &#8216;Whistleblower&#8217;, a disgruntled employee who supports Dems, fabricates stories, &amp; spews lies.&#8221;
&#8220;[60 Minutes] report was incorrect, which they couldn’t care less about. Fake News!&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I don’t know this guy, never met him, but don’t like what I see. How can a creep like this show up to work tomorrow &amp; report to [HHS Sec. Alex Azar], his boss, after trashing him on T.V.?&#8221;
&#8220;This whole Whistleblower racket needs to be looked at very closely, it is causing great injustice &amp; harm,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I hope you are listening [Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)].&#8221;
&#8220;I also hope that Shari Redstone will take a look at her poorly performing gang,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;She knows how to make things right!&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-unloads-on-60-minutes-for-incorrect-whistleblower-interview-namechecks-key-players">Whistleblower Rick Bright Testifies To Anna Eshoo’s Committee. A Company In Her District Got $110 Million From Agency He Ran.</a>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@60Minutes</a> &amp; third place anchor, <a href="https://twitter.com/NorahODonnell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NorahODonnell</a>, are doing everything in their power to demean our Country, much to the benefit of the Radical Left Democrats. Tonight they put on yet another Fake “Whistleblower”, a disgruntled employee who supports Dems, fabricates stories, &amp;&#8230;
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1262205045359226880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8230;.This whole Whistleblower racket needs to be looked at very closely, it is causing great injustice &amp; harm. I hope you are listening <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSusanCollins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenSusanCollins</a> I also hope that Shari Redstone will take a look at her poorly performing gang. She knows how to make things right!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1262205050472009729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Trump Unloads On ‘60 Minutes’ For ‘Incorrect’ Whistleblower Interview; Namechecks Key Players

Susan Collins

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar quieted CNN reporter Jim Acosta during the White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing on Friday after Acosta suggested that the administration had &#8220;dropped the ball&#8221; in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
Acosta referenced a report published by CNN earlier in the day that highlighted how Azar said during a biodefence summit last April that a flu pandemic was something that kept a lot of people up at night in his field.
&#8220;For 15 years this country has had a massive effort at the federal, state, and local level of preparedness for pandemic. Now, that largely has been, as I said in those remarks about pandemic flu preparedness,&#8221; Azar responded. &#8220;We knew about SARS, we know about MERS, which were earlier modifications or variance of the coronavirus. None of those achieved anything like what we are seeing today.&#8221;
&#8220;But that&#8217;s why, for successive presidencies, including the leadership of President Trump, there’s been a great focus on pandemic preparedness,&#8221; Azar continued. &#8220;In fact, it was just in September that the president signed the pandemic flu preparedness Executive Order and we have also updated the pandemic crisis action plan which has been the playbook from which we have been working, the pandemic flu plan, again, the action plan from which we have been working, that coordinates the whole of government, whole of economy approach. So, we have all been very focused on pandemic preparedness. That&#8217;s what we do. But this particular strain of pandemic, who would have known this particular strain?&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Jim <a href="https://twitter.com/Acosta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Acosta</a> is a transparent hack. So <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realdonaldtrump</a> treated him like one. Then, for a cherry on top, Sec Azar dunks on Acosta, too. <a href="https://t.co/shIDAmB2Ve">pic.twitter.com/shIDAmB2Ve</a>
&mdash; Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1246224923363651584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>CNN&#8217;s JIM ACOSTA: Where is Dr. Fauci?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don&#8217;t know, but every time you ask the question, whenever he&#8217;s not here, you look and you say, &#8216;where is he?&#8217; And you&#8217;ll say, &#8216;is there a problem?&#8217; There&#8217;s not problem whatsoever. Every time he&#8217;s not here, sometimes I will ask him to come because that&#8217;s the first question that you and a couple of others from the fake news establishment ask is, &#8216;where is Dr. Fauci?&#8217; We are doing great together. We are covering a different subject today. Go ahead. Go ahead Jim.
ACOSTA: Mr. President, you have said nobody could have seen this pandemic coming. But, in fact, Secretary Azar at a biodefense summit in April 2019 said, &#8216;of course the thing that people ask, what keeps you most up at night in the biodefense world, pandemic flu of course. I think everyone in this room probably shares that concern.&#8217; Your Health and Human Services secretary was aware that this had potential of being a very big problem around the world, a pandemic of this nature. Who dropped the ball?
TRUMP: Well, I always knew that pandemics are one of the worst things that could happen. There has been nothing like this since probably 1917, that was the big one in Europe &#8230; I have heard about, let me finish. I’ve heard about this for a long time, pandemics, you do not want pandemics. And I do not think he was talking about a specific pandemic. He was talking about the threat of a pandemic, could happen, and it could happen, most people thought it wouldn’t and most people did not understand the severity of it, this is very severe what has happened is very severe. But I would let you answer that, I assume he was talking about the concept of a pandemic.
HHS SECRETARY ALEX AZAR: For 15 years this country has had a massive effort at the federal, state, and local level of preparedness for pandemic. Now, that largely has been, as I said in those remarks about pandemic flu preparedness. We knew about SARS, we know about MERS, which were earlier modifications or variance of the coronavirus. None of those achieved anything like what we are seeing today. But that&#8217;s why, for successive presidencies, including the leadership of President Trump, there’s been a great focus on pandemic preparedness. In fact, it was just in November that the president signed the pandemic flu preparedness Executive Order and we have also updated the pandemic crisis action plan which has been the playbook from which we have been working, the pandemic flu plan, again, the action plan from which we have been working, that coordinates the whole of government, whole of economy approach. So we have all been very focused on pandemic preparedness. That&#8217;s what we do. But this particular strain of pandemic, who would have known this particular strain?
ACOSTA: Secretary Azar, if you were preparing for a pandemic or if this government were preparing for pandemic, why is it that we do not have enough masks? Why is it do we not have enough medical equipment in this country?
TRUMP: Previous administration’s gave us very little ammunition for the military and very little shelf space. You know the answer. The previous administration, the shelves were empty, the shelves were empty, so what you should do is speak to the people from the previous administration, Jim, and ask them that question, because the shelves were empty and you know what else? The military shelves were also empty. We had no ammunition. Literally. That was, one of your favorite generals, we have sir, we have no ammunition, guess what, we had very little medical supply also.</blockquote>

Menu

Alex Azar

HHS Secretary Calls Out CNN For Resignation Chyron, Says He’s Staying Until Inauguration

Tapper Takes HHS Secretary Azar To Task Over Trump’s Mask ‘Message’

U.S. Gives $1.2 Billion To U.K. Attempt At Vaccine, 300 Million Doses Could Be Ready By October

Trump Unloads On ‘60 Minutes’ For ‘Incorrect’ Whistleblower Interview; Namechecks Key Players

Secretary Azar Dunks On CNN’s Acosta: We Started Preparing For A Pandemic Last Fall