Many States in the US have alleged Trump Administration for seizing Medical Supplies

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The officials in many states have blamed the US federal government of seizing shipments that they’ve ordered. It is forcing them to compete with other states for critically needed equipment in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic. However, the White House has informed states to find their own medical supplies following requests for aid from a national stockpile. A number of officials in Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Texas have said Donald Trump’s administration has stopped or re-routed shipments to their states, without explanation. Point to be noted that the president and Jared Kushner criticized officials for their lack of preparedness.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis informed CNN on 4^th April 2020 that the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has swept up the state’s order for 500 ventilators. He said the state has been made to compete against any other state, every other country. He added that they are now competing against the federal government, which has been accused of winning bids for equipment orders against the states. Polis also said, “We’ve been asking what we’re going to get from FEMA, we’d love a timeline, and numbers”. A county official Shanel Robinson informed the Franklin Reporter and Advocate that an order of 35,000 N95 masks to Somerset County, New Jersey has also been diverted by the US federal government.

Political consultant and former communications director for the Democratic Governors Association, Jared Leopold informed The New York Times that it would be like high school cafeteria drama if it weren’t life or death. He said the President is actually playing political games around life-or-death issues and leaving states to defend themselves. Vice President Mike Pence informed governors on Monday that the federal government’s air bridge distribution plan is using FEMA as a control tower at the airport to create a singular distribution network. He said Trump administration has the visibility on medical supplies that are moving into this country and are available to vendors across the United States.