The federal government has fulfilled some states' coronavirus requests while reportedly ignoring others
There doesn't seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason when it comes to the federal government fulfilling state's requests for medical supplies to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic, The Washington Post reports.
For instance, Oklahoma has reportedly received 120,000 face shields despite only requesting 16,000. North Carolina, meanwhile, wound up on the other end of the spectrum — after reportedly requesting 500,000 medical coveralls, only 306 showed up, state records show.
Despite President Trump's comments about wanting governors to show him appreciation when making their requests, the Post notes there's no evidence the White House is favoring Republicans. Indeed, Trump has talked up his cooperation with some Democratic governors, while GOP-led states like Georgia has reportedly struggled to fill its requests. Democratic aides have said the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency return calls promptly and always agree to consider requests.
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Still, one White House officials told the Post on condition of anonymity that Trump isn't completely ignoring politics, at least in one swing state that could play a major role in the 2020 election. Florida, whose Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) gets along swimmingly with Trump, has had all of its requests received so far. "He pays close attention to what Florida wants," the official said. Read more at The Washington Post.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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