Tensions flare as Democrats press Pence over coronavirus testing
By Jordain Carney - 04/17/20 04:43 PM EDT
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Tensions flared on Friday between Senate Democrats and Vice President Pence as senators pressed administration officials during a conference call for answers on coronavirus testing.
The hourlong call — the latest in a series of briefings taking place while members are scattered across the country— comes as the administration is eager to start reopening the country even as Democrats and public health experts warn there needs to be a dramatic escalation in testing.
"I have never been so mad about a phone call in my life," the normally mild-mannered Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats, said during the conference call with Pence and other Trump officials, according to two sources.
King, according to one of the sources, views the administration's stance on testing as an "abdication of the federal government’s responsibility." A second source said King specifically labeled the administration's lack of national testing regime as a “dereliction of duty" on the call.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/493394-tensions-flare-as-democrats-press-pence-over-coronavirus-testing
