Dr. Beborah Birx, the chief medical officer on the White House coronavirus task force has told people around her that she is “distressed” with the direction of the task force and the federal government’s ‘nightmarish’ response to the coronavirus pandemic, sources told CNN.
Birx’s role on the White House coronavirus task force has been diminished since Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist joined the task force. Sources say Birx is not sure how long she can continue to serve in her current capacity given her diminished role and the rising death toll.
The source told CNN that Birx believes Atlas is feeding Donald Trump misleading information about the efficacy of face masks for controlling the spread of the virus. “The President has found somebody who matches what he wants to believe,” the source says. “There is no doubt that she feels that her role has been diminished.”
The White House denied any bad blood among the members of the task force in a statement to CNN:
“All of the medical experts in the administration are working together around the clock to carry out the President’s No. 1 priority: protecting the health and safety of the American people and defeating this virus from China. President Trump relies on the advice and counsel of all of his top health officials every day and any suggestion that their role is being diminished is just false.”
