Politicschris christie ebola quarantineElizabeth WarrenPolitics

Elizabeth Warren To Chris Christie: Show 'Science, Not Politics' On Ebola Quarantine

Warren To Christie: Show 'Science, Not Politics' On Ebola Quarantine
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Managing Editor, Breaking News, HuffPost

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday criticized New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) controversial Ebola quarantine, urging the governor to prioritize "science, not politics" in his response to the deadly virus.

Appearing on "CBS This Morning," Warren responded to Christie's defense of the quarantine. According to the governor, the Centers for Disease Control is "behind" on their response to the virus.

"He should bring out his scientists who are advising him on that because we know that we want to be led by the science," Warren said. "That's what's going to keep people safe. Science, not politics."

Warren continued: "Ebola is not new. We've known about it for a long time, and we were putting money into funding Ebola many years ago and Republicans have cut funding overall for medical research, for the National Institutes of Health, and Ebola has not been a priority. So now we’re in a position where instead of making those investments up front, we wait until people die, now we’re going to spend billions of dollars and some real risk to our country."

Watch Warren's full interview here.

On Friday, Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that all travelers who had direct contact with Ebola patients would be placed under a mandatory 21-day quarantine. The requirement exceeds the protocols recommended by the CDC, and has faced criticism from health care experts who warn that the policy could deter health care workers from traveling to West Africa to aid Ebola patients, threatening efforts to curb the spread of the disease.

Kaci Hickox, a nurse who was quarantined after returning from Sierra Leone despite testing negative for the virus, spoke out against the policy and threatened legal action. Hickox was released from isolation Monday.

Christie, however, has insisted that Hickox's release does not indicate a reversal in policy.

"I didn’t reverse my decision," Christie said Monday. "She hadn’t had any symptoms for 24 hours. And she tested negative for Ebola. So there was no reason to keep her."

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Before You Go

Ebola In New York
(01 of13)
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Dr. Craig Spencer, who was diagnosed with Ebola in New York City last month, hugs New York Mayor Bill de Blasio at a news conference at New York's Bellevue Hospital after being declared free of the disease on November 11, 2014. (credit:Spencer Platt via Getty Images)
(02 of13)
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Hazmat crews unload barrels to take into the apartment building of Dr. Craig Spencer. (credit:DON EMMERT via Getty Images)
(03 of13)
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Mayor Bill de Blasio takes the subway on his route to City Hall, on October 24, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Handout via Getty Images)
(04 of13)
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Don Weiss, from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, speaks to the media in front of the closed Brooklyn bowling alley that New York City's first Ebola patient visited before showing symptoms of the virus. (credit:Spencer Platt via Getty Images)
(05 of13)
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A sign on the gate for the entrance to Bellevue Hospital is viewed on October 24, 2014 in New York, the morning after it was confirmed that Craig Spencer, a member of Doctors Without Borders, who recently returned to New York from West Africa tested positive for Ebola. (credit:TIMOTHY A. CLARY via Getty Images)
(06 of13)
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A newspaper vendor holds up a copy of the NY Post in front of the entrance to Bellevue Hospital October 24, 2014 in New York, the morning after it was confirmed that Craig Spencer, a member of Doctors Without Borders, who recently returned to New York from Guinea tested positive for Ebola. (credit:TIMOTHY A. CLARY via Getty Images)
(07 of13)
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A pedestrian, wearing a mask, walks near the apartment building of Dr. Craig Spencer on October 24, 2014 in New York. (credit:DON EMMERT via Getty Images)
(08 of13)
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A New York City Police officer stands at the entrance to Bellevue Hospital October 23, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Bryan Thomas via Getty Images)
(09 of13)
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Barbara Smith (R), a nurse with Mount Sinai Health System, and Bryan Christensen, a doctor and member of the Center for Disease Control's Domestic Infection Control Team for the Ebola Response, demonstrate to health care professionals how to properly put on protective medical gear when working with someone infected with the ebola virus at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on October 21, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Andrew Burton via Getty Images)
(10 of13)
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On October 9, 2014, Mary Moorer leads a class with workers from the union 32BJ, many of them airline cabin cleaners, terminal cleaners and wheelchair attendants, on how to better protect themselves from infectious diseases. (credit:Spencer Platt via Getty Images)
(11 of13)
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On October 9, 2014, nearly 200 airline cabin cleaners walk on a picket line at LaGuardia International Airport after going on strike overnight out of concern over health and safety issues including the possible exposure to the Ebola virus. (credit:Spencer Platt via Getty Images)
(12 of13)
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Members of Bellevue Hospital staff wear protective clothing as they demonstrate how they would receive a suspected Ebola patient on October 8, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Spencer Platt via Getty Images)
(13 of13)
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A member of Bellevue's Hospital staff wears protective clothing during a demonstration on how they would receive a suspected Ebola patient on October 8, 2014 in New York City. (credit:Spencer Platt via Getty Images)
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