Schumer’s new call for virus czar

Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday renewed calls for President Trump to appoint a coronavirus czar to manage the distribution of much-needed medical equipment during the ongoing pandemic.

Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate minority leader, said states have for weeks been forced to go on “scavenger hunts” for supplies like ventilators and face masks, sometimes requiring local governments to bid against one other to secure the goods.

A military leader in charge of managing that equipment is now essential as White House officials warn of a grim week ahead while the number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths skyrocket across the country, Schumer insists.

“The military knows how to do these things,” Schumer said at a press conference outside his Brooklyn apartment. “They know command and control, they know logistics. They know how to get thousands and thousands of materials to the right place at the right time, and they’ve done it before.”

Under Schumer’s proposal, which he first floated last month and re-sent to the president Sunday, the Trump-appointed official would have full authority to send medical supplies to New York and other states.

Mayor de Blasio on Sunday said the city is bracing for a grave shortage of ventilators and could run out by midweek.

Schumer was one of the first high-ranking elected officials in New York to sound the alarm about the coronavirus. The senator called for Trump to declare a public health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak on Jan. 26, and has since decried the federal government for dragging its feet on managing the pandemic.