Washington, March 24 (RHC)-- As criticism of Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis mounts, Reuters is reporting that the U.S. president eliminated a position last year at the Centers for Disease Control which was tasked with helping to detect, investigate and help contain disease outbreaks in China. This comes as reports emerged that Trump continued to play down the threat of coronavirus despite repeated warnings by U.S. intelligence in January and February that a global pandemic was likely.

Meanwhile, Politico is reporting the Justice Department has quietly been pushing lawmakers to grant the department new powers amid the public health crisis, including the ability to have some judges detain people indefinitely without trial, pause court proceedings during emergencies and ban people with COVID-19 from seeking asylum. The measures are not likely to pass a Democrat-ruled House.

In an interview with Science magazine, Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, addressed Trump’s many erroneous official statements about the pandemic, saying: “I can’t jump in front of the microphone and push him down.”  Then Fauci added: “OK, he said it.  Let’s try and get it corrected for the next time.”