Nancy Beck, a former chemical industry executive and President Trump’s nominee for the nation’s top consumer safety watchdog was involved in the administration’s decision to shelve an iteration of reopening guidelines drafted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according emails obtained by The Associated Press.
Last month, the AP reported that the White House shelved a guidance that top public health experts at the CDC crafted to help U.S. communities reopen safely amid the pandemic.
Beck was the main point of contact for the CDC guidances in the White House, the AP reported.
The White House adviser took issue with the 63-page guide from the CDC for local leaders seeking to reopen public spaces such as schools.
Beck is also coordinating a review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the coronavirus relief efforts signed by the president to address the economic fallout of the coronavirus.
Emails obtained by the outlet dated earlier in April show that CDC Director Robert Redfield emailed the guidelines to a group of White House officials, including Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, for their review before the agency posted them on its website.
By the end of the month, approval for the guidelines had been stalled. CDC chief of staff Robert “Kyle” McGowan emailed Beck in late-April asking for approval status.
“We need them as soon as possible so that we can get them posted,” McGowan wrote in an email obtained by the AP.
“WH principals are in touch with the task force so the task force should be aware of status,” Beck replied, according to the news source.
After further approval delays, McGowan was told that the guidances would “never see the light of day”, according to anonymous CDC officials with knowledge of the subject who spoke to the AP.
Redfield later responded to the AP story about the rejected guidances in a statement shared by the White House on Saturday, saying the document had not been reviewed by other agencies and wasn’t final.
An OMB spokesperson told the AP the guidances were the “start of the deliberative process, not the end, and everyone knows that.”
Beck was nominated to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission earlier this year and is pending Senate confirmation. She is scheduled to appear before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee later this month.
According to the AP, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), a ranking member of the committee, sent a letter of inquiry on Wednesday to Beck, asking for more information on her career as a toxicologist and her involvement in the administration’s rejection of guidance from the CDC.
“I am deeply concerned by the nominee’s involvement in advocating for the deregulation of toxic chemicals known as PFAS and I also have questions about her potential involvement with the CDC coronavirus guidance,” Cantwell said in a statement to the AP.
On Thursday evening, the CDC released official guidelines to safely reopen public spaces such as schools and workplaces.