This boggles the mind. With sky high COVID infections and deaths rising back to 1000/day, this: In talks w Senate GOP over the weekend, “administration officials instead pushed to zero out the funding for testing and for the nation’s top health agencies” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/world/coronavirus-news.html#click=https://t.co/mQCtyUPe6p

More details in this @washingtonpost story. “Several Senate Republicans including @SenBillCassidy (R-La.) are exploring pushing a testing and tracing provision in the next stimulus package but are expected to meet resistance from the White House.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/07/18/white-house-testing-budget-cdc-coronavirus/

In addition to zeroing out $25B for testing and tracing, “The administration is also seeking to zero out $10 billion in new funding for the CDC in the upcoming bill.”

Instead? “Administration officials are trying to use the spending package to fund priorities that appear not directly related to the coronavirus — including a new FBI building.”