Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday accused the Trump administration of being "slow to the ball" with its "chaotic" coronavirus response.
"In terms of the federal response, we have been slow to the ball and the federal response is still chaotic," said Napolitano, the current president of the University of California, during a conference call on Friday, according to The Hill.
"We were slow to appreciate the intelligence that we were getting out of China about the coronavirus to implement the pandemic plans we do have in the federal government," she added, saying that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was "very slow" to develop a test for the virus.
"As far as the supply chain management, it's really the wild west out there," Napolitano said. "We were very slow to implement the Defense Production Act and I still can't tell to what extent that it has been implemented."
She did point to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as one exception to the "all over the map" messaging from the administration.
"Messaging from the White House has been all over the map," Napolitano said. "It kind of depends on the day. I always listen to Tony Fauci. I listened to him when I was secretary, I listen to him now."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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