Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney hit the Trump administration for celebrating their testing, saying that the administration’s response is “nothing to celebrate whatsoever” during Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Senate testimony Tuesday.
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“I understand that politicians are going to frame data in a way that is most positive politically. Of course, I wouldn’t expect that from admirals,” Romney said in reference to Admiral Brett Giroir celebrating America’s testing capabilities.
“Yesterday you celebrated that we had done more tests and more tests per capita, even, than South Korea,” Romney said. “But you ignored the fact that they accomplished theirs at the beginning of the outbreak, while we treaded water during February and March.”
“And, as a result, by March [6], the U.S. had completed just 2,000 tests whereas South Korea had conducted more than 140,000 tests. So, partially as a result of that, they have 256 deaths and we have almost 80,000 deaths,” Romney added.
“I find our testing record nothing to celebrate whatsoever,” he continued. “The fact is their test numbers are going down, down, down, down now, because they don’t have the kind of outbreak we have. Ours are going up, up, up, as they have to. I think that’s an important lesson for us as we think about the future.”
Romney did seem to offer some praise to the Trump administration, noting that the U.S. has done a “pretty darn good job of moving ahead pretty aggressively” to finding a vaccine.
Fauci’s Senate testimony has already generated some interesting moments, with Sen. Rand Paul telling Fauci that he doesn’t think he’s the “end-all” of coronavirus responses, to which Fauci seemed to agree. (RELATED: Chuck Schumer Cheers Dr. Fauci Senate Testimony: ‘Dr. Fauci, Let It Rip’)