Coronavirus: Jared Kushner says national stockpile of medical equipment used for public health emergencies is not for states

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President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner appeared during the White House's daily press briefing on Thursday to answer questions about the administration's response in aiding states during the coronavirus pandemic.

But the man raised some eyebrows with his answers when he said the federal government's Strategic National Stockpile was "our stockpile" and not for the states.

"The notion of the federal stockpile was it's supposed to be our stockpile," he said during the briefing. "It's not supposed to be states' stockpiles that they then use."

States have turned to the federal government to assist when supplying necessary medical equipment that includes personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators.

Governors needed this help from the federal government because their states were unable to purchase or make more equipment.

Mr Kushner has now claimed it was not on the federal government to provide from its Strategic National Stockpile.

But the stockpile, by definition, "is the nation's largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out," according to the US government's website about the stockpile.

“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. Organised for scalable response to a variety of public health threats, this repository contains enough supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously."

The senior advisor also suggested during the briefing state governors and senators were not being proper "managers" in knowing how much medical equipment they had available for their residents.

"Some governors you speak to or senators, they don't know what's in their states," he said. "Some governors I'll speak to and they'll know to the number how many ventilators they have in their state because that's the first thing a good manager will do ... most governors off the bat didn't know what they needed."

"What a lot of voters are seeing now is that when you elect somebody to be a mayor, or governor, or president you're trying to think about who will be a competent manner during a time of crisis, this is a time of crisis, and you're seeing that certain people are better managers than others," he added.

In order for a state to get approval for more equipment from the federal government, the official must show the federal government data to what is in their own stockpile and prove there is a need for more equipment, Mr Kushner said.

Outrage over Mr Kushner's comments surfaced after the briefing, with people calling it "nepotism" for why the man had a position in the White House. A majority of this outrage also focused on Mr Kushner saying "our" stockpile, as if to suggest the American public was unable to use the equipment.

"What does Jared mean when he says 'our' stockpile? Does he not know that the White House is 'our' house? NOTHING belongs to them! It ALL belongs to WE the people," one person wrote on Twitter.

Following the backlash, the Trump administration has since changed the definition of the Strategic National Stockpile on the government's website. 

"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," it now reads. 

State governors across the US have been vocal about the lack of medical equipment they have or will have when the peak of coronavirus cases hits.

Due to a lack of supplies, officials implored the president to use the Defence Production Act to produce ventilators and face masks for weeks. Now companies like GE and Ford are working to produce ventilators as the national stockpile and state stockpiles run dangerously low.