Maloney oversees the House Oversight Committee while Clyburn and Krishnamoorthi are subcommittee chairs; the three lawmakers last week expanded their probe into the Trump administration’s planned ad campaign on coronavirus following a pair of POLITICO reports. Meanwhile, DeLauro oversees the House Appropriations subcommittee that holds HHS’ pursestrings.
POLITICO first reported on the administration’s plan to bid a $250 million contract to “inspire hope and defeat despair” about the virus, and last month detailed the ad campaign’s stumbles as celebrities backed away and contractors struggled to complete the ads before the election.
Michael Caputo, the health department’s top public affairs official who is now on medical leave, last month said in a Facebook Live video that President Donald Trump personally “demanded” the campaign. Democrats have charged that the campaign is politically motivated to boost perceptions of Trump’s handling of the virus before the election.
Asked about the plans for the ad campaign and Democrats’ concerns, a spokesperson for the Health and Human Services department on Tuesday said that there was “an urgent and compelling need for consistent and coordinated public health messaging” around Covid-19. Secretary Alex Azar also testified to the House Oversight committee last week that he had begun a “strategic review” of the campaign to ensure that it serves a public health purpose.