House panel renews probe into Trump administration’s interference with covid-19 response

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Top Democrat makes new allegations of political appointees muzzling scientists.

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The head of a House oversight panel on Monday renewed its investigation into political interference in the nation’s coronavirusresponse, releasing new allegations of meddling in scientists’ work.

Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), chairman of the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis, released emails from a Trump science adviser that he said showed how the administration worked to weaken guidance on who should be tested for the coronavirus. Clyburn also cited evidence that Trump appointees sought to boost access to unproven treatments for the coronavirus that were favored by the president.

The panel “is continuing these critical investigations … in order to understand what went wrong over the last year and determine what corrective steps are necessary to control the virus and save American lives,” Clyburn wrote to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and acting health and human services secretary Norris Cochran, in letters shared with The Washington Post.