New York Times: Administration to Phase Out Coronavirus Task Force
“Despite growing evidence that the pandemic is still raging, administration officials said on Tuesday that they had made so much progress in bringing it under control that they planned to wind down the coronavirus task force in the coming weeks and focus the White House on restarting the economy. Vice President Mike Pence, who has led the task force for two months, said it would probably wrap up its work around the end of the May, and shift management of the public health response back to the federal agencies whose work it was created to coordinate…” (Weiland et al., 5/5).

Wall Street Journal: White House Coronavirus Task Force Team Restricted From Congressional Hearings
“The Trump administration has issued new guidance that bars members of the White House’s coronavirus task force from appearing at congressional hearings this month, according to an administration official and document reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. The task force includes such figures as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease official, and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator. Dr. Fauci and other task force members are still scheduled to testify this month in the Senate, however…” (Restuccia, 5/5).

Additional coverage of the White House plan to disband the coronavirus task force, as well as other Trump administration comments on the pandemic, is available from Bloomberg (2), Financial Times, The Hill, POLITICO (2), and Reuters.