Senators press for appointment of senior global health security expert for first time in nearly two years

With the growing weight of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) felt at home and abroad, members of the Senate have grown increasingly uncomfortable with a nearly two-year-old vacancy for a national senior public health security expert — and last week, 27 of them pushed for a change.

The vacancy has left an empty seat on the National Security Council (NSC) for a head of global health security, a role that would help address and coordinate administration response efforts to health security threats. Appointing such a position is in the purview of National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, and it was to him the senators addressed a pointed letter. Helming the effort were U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA).

“Families concerned about the novel coronavirus threat need to know the NSC has a dedicated, senior official with appropriate expertise and authority to address the domestic and global health threats from the virus,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is of paramount importance that this person approaches this role through a public health lens. We urge immediate action.”

As the senators press the administration for action, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that 15 cases of the novel coronavirus — COVID-19 — have been confirmed in the U.S. Previously, the World Health Organization dubbed the outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China, as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The U.S. followed suit by naming it a public health emergency and barring travel from foreigners that have recently visited China.

The senior public health position has been vacant since May 2018, when Rear Adm. Tim Ziemer left the role. Though Warren and Murray pressed previous National Security Advisor John Bolton about the vacancy and how it would affect the National Security Council’s response to global health threats, no response was forthcoming.

The senators have also asked if the NSC was working to hire such an expert and what their qualifications will be, as well as the top acting officials on global health security and the COVID-19 response at the NSC. They requested answers by Feb. 27, 2020.

As of the most recent report, more than 63,000 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus, and more than 1,300 have died as a result. The majority remain within China, but the virus has reached 25 countries in all.