Dunford withdraws from consideration to chair coronavirus oversight panel

Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford has withdrawn his name from consideration to chair a coronavirus oversight panel created by the March relief package.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were looking at Dunford to head the five-member congressional commission to oversee pandemic relief.

But Dunford has withdrawn his name, two sources familiar confirmed to The Hill.

“Ultimately, General Dunford decided his service on the CARES Commission was incompatible with his other commitments,” a source said.

Under the structure established by the March coronavirus bill, each of the four congressional leaders — Pelosi, McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — name an individual to serve on the commission.

The Congressional Oversight Commission was created to oversee a $500 billion Treasury and Federal Reserve Fund created under the March bill. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Reps. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) and French Hill (R-Ark.), and Bharat Ramamurti, a former aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), were selected to serve on the panel.

Pelosi and McConnell then have to agree on a fifth person to chair the commission.

The Washington Post first reported late last month that Dunford was under consideration as Pelosi and McConnell tried to find an individual who would be acceptable to both parties, with the coronavirus aid growing increasingly political in recent months.