WASHINGTON, D.C. (WGHP) – North Carolina’s junior U.S. Senator Ted Budd, and 8th Congressional District Rep. Dan Bishop (R-Charlotte) have joined with more than two dozen of their most conservative Republican colleagues to argue against President Joe Biden’s apparent plan to nominate a North Carolinian to head the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Biden appears to have focused on Dr. Mandy Cohen, the former secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services, as his choice to succeed Rochelle Walensky, who announced her resignation in May.
Cohen, who never has been elected to public office and served the NC DHHS after being appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2017, now is in private practice in Maryland after leaving DHHS in late 2021.
But Budd, Bishop and the others are asking Biden to withdraw his support for Cohen – she has not been introduced as a selection – because they don’t like the way she handled the COVID-19 pandemic, even though North Carolina fared better than most states based on statistical analysis.
The CDC reports that 1,131,439 have died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, with just more than 20,059 in North Carolina. Nearly 56.5 million have been inoculated against the virus (More than 7 million in North Carolina have received at least one dose).
The letter
But the letter cites points that have emerged as political positions developed after the pandemic largely had started to wane:
“Dr. Cohen is unfit for the position. Throughout her career, Dr. Cohen has politicized science, disregarded civil liberties, and spread misinformation about the efficacy and necessity of COVID vaccinations and the necessity of masks, during her time as the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. She also has a history of engaging in partisan leftwing politics.”
The letter also alludes to another common Republican enemy for his role in addressing the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the expert on infectious diseases who retired last year after four decades in advising presidents about them.
CDC nomination letter by Steven Doyle on Scribd
“To further illustrate the point, in August 2020, Dr. Cohen publicly sported a Dr. Fauci-themed cloth mask, asserting that ‘face coverings are one of our strongest tools to slow the spread of COVID-19,’” the letter stated. “This was despite scientific data showing that face coverings largely fail to stop the spread of COVID-19, including experts finding that ‘we continue to conclude that cloth masks and face coverings are likely to have limited impact on lowering COVID-19 transmission.’”
The efficacy of masks, of course, is based on the type of mask. But medical experts, as cited by the Mayor Clinic, advocate their effectiveness in combatting communicable diseases.
The letter also noted that Cohen was affiliated in 2009 with the “Doctors for Obama,” a group that supported the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The letter cites her contributions to that effort as disqualifying her for the appointment.
Budd, who was elected in November to succeed retiring Richard Burr, and Bishop, an outspoken member of the House Freedom Caucus, were joined by a group of lawmakers that most often are connected with extreme policy, 2020 election deniers and even outrageous and unfounded conspiracy theories.
Those who signed
Budd’s partner in the Senate, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), is not listed among the six members who cosigned the letter. Among those who did sign were Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, J.D. Vance of Ohio, Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Mike Braun of Indiana.
None of Bishop’s six GOP cohorts serving North Carolina in Congress – including 5th District Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-Banner Elk) and 9th District Rep. Richard Hudson (R-Southern Pines) – were signing, but the 22 House members did include some of those names you see often espousing anti-COVID-response positions: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Bob Good, Andy Biggs, Andy Ogles, Ronny Jackson, Scott Perry, Ralph Norman, Byron Donalds and Chip Roy. All are members of the House Freedom Caucus.
“Given her strong affiliation with the Democrat Party and the COVID-19 lockdowns,” the letter said, “it will be difficult for the American people to trust Dr. Cohen to run the CDC as a nonpartisan actor who makes objective decisions rooted in scientific data, and not in political expediency. Therefore, we urge you to reverse course on Dr. Cohen’s reported appointment to the Director of the CDC.”
The letter does not suggest an alternate name that Biden could forward for scrutiny and approval.
Critic in state
And Cohen, who almost certainly would be examined by GOP lawmakers who are intent on relitigating the COVID-19 response, has at least one critic on the state level, too.
Dale Folwell, the Winston-Salem native and state treasurer who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, posted his views on Cohen on social media last week.
“Pray for our country,” Folwell wrote. “As a member of the NC Council of State, my observation is that the actions of Dr. Mandy Cohen during COVID resulted in more disease, death, poverty and illiteracy. As NC governor, I would be hard pressed to ever follow her lead at CDC if chosen by the POTUS.”
Folwell later told The News & Observer that he was frustrated by vaccine rollouts and his request for more testing in prison employees.
There are supporters, too
Others tout her strengths.
“Mandy is a great manager, fixer, strategist and public communicator,” said Natalie Davis, the CEO of United States of Care, a nonprofit focused on access to affordable health care, and a close colleague of Cohen’s during the Obama administration, told The Washington Post.
Said Cooper in announcing her departure: “Mandy Cohen has shown extraordinary leadership during her tenure, and she has worked every day during this pandemic to help keep North Carolinians healthy and safe.”
