Jared Kushner, White House adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump, declared on Thursday that the stockpiles of much-needed supplies governors were requesting to help with the coronavirus pandemic weren’t actually meant for the states.
“The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile,” Kushner said. “It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use.”
At another point in the briefing, Kushner patted himself and the administration on the back, claiming, “We’ve done things that the federal government has never done before, quicker than they’ve ever done it before.”
Kushner also insisted that they had found supplies and distributed them “where we anticipate there will be needs.”
But his explanation about the federal stockpile and its purpose didn’t sit right with many ― and was at odds with the statement on the Strategic National Stockpile website:
When state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency.
The website also noted that the stockpile could “resupply state and local public health agencies in a catastrophic health event.”
Twitter users were quick to school Kushner and wonder who the “our” in his statement referred to, if not the people of the United States:
UPDATE: April 3 — Since Kushner’s comments went viral, the statement found on the Strategic National Stockpile website has been changed. Previously, it said:
When state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency.
It now reads:
The Strategic National Stockpile’s role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies. Many states have products stockpiled, as well. The supplies, medicines, and devices for life-saving care contained in the stockpile can be used as a short-term stopgap buffer when the immediate supply of adequate amounts of these materials may not be immediately available.
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