Trump administration pushing to block new money for testing, tracing, and CDC

The Trump administration is reportedly trying to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contact tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill. People involved in the talks say the administration is also trying to block billions of dollars that Republican senators want to allocate for CDC to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The negotiations center around a bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is preparing to unveil as part of negotiations with Democrats on the relief bill. Republicans and Democrats are far apart on a number of issues, but the conflict between Trump administration officials and Senate Republicans on money for testing and other priorities is creating a major complication even before bipartisan negotiations get under way. Senate Republicans are reportedly trying to allocate $25 billion for states to conduct testing and contact tracing, but certain administration officials want to zero out the testing and tracing money entirely. President Trump and other White House officials have been pushing for states to own more of the responsibility for testing and have objected to creating national standards, at times seeking to minimize the federal government’s role. White House officials have been sharply critical of CDC’s performance during the pandemic, complaining that its initial testing efforts were faulty and that it did not know more about the virus earlier this year.