House Minority Whip Steve Scalise on Wednesday blasted the World Health Organization (WHO) and their director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying the best way for them to move forward is by getting rid of Tedros.
In a phone call with the Daily Caller, the Louisiana Republican called for Tedros’ resignation and said the WHO needs to replace him with someone who will not cover for other countries, such as China. Scalise also said that he believes not even Tedros’ resignation would be enough to restore the credibility of the organization.
“Dr. Tedros has been questioned for years, and there’ve been a lot of people that have raised serious concerns about Doctor Tedros’ leadership at WHO. If WHO wants to restore their credibility around the world, the most important first step they can take is by removing Dr. Tedros as their head. But that would just be the beginning of restoring credibility,” Scalise said to the Daily Caller.
“I think they would then need to prove that they’re trying to bring somebody in who’s a respected medical professional and not somebody who will cover for failed regimes like the communist Chinese government or even if you look at other outbreaks like Ebola for trying to cover for the countries that started those diseases. So he needs to go. But then they also need to bring somebody in who can actually reestablish credibility at WHO before they’re going to be received properly by the rest of the world, especially by the United States,” Scalice continued.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) speaks as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) listens during a news conference December 3, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday criticized President Donald Trump for placing a hold on funding for the WHO, saying that the decision will be overruled, while also calling his actions illegal. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Steve Scalise To Donate Millions To NRCC In Effort To Win Back The House)
Trump officially cut off America’s funding for the WHO on Tuesday, saying the group had contributed to China’s misinformation on the coronavirus. (RELATED: President Trump Cuts Off Funding For World Health Organization Over COVID-19 Handling)
Many Republicans have continued to say the WHO has been covering up the virus and caused deaths that could have been prevented.
Republicans in Congress have also been continuing to push for information from the WHO. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter Thursday to the WHO, asking them to detail their relationship with China in regards to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ranking Member Jim Jordan said in a statement that “The World Health Organization should be ashamed that they relied on Chinese propaganda when deciding how to combat the coronavirus crisis. President Trump is right to question the WHO’s role in global health going forward.”
White House officials have refuted Pelosi’s claim that cutting funding to the WHO is “illegal,” in statements to the Daily Caller.