House lawmakers have revealed that the Trump administration spent $265 million on a COVID-19 campaign ad. A part of the huge sum was used to vet the political views of 274 celebrities to establish if they are “appropriate” for President Donald Trump’s latest PR stunt in preparation for the November 3 election, the lawmakers started. The ad was intended to protect the president’s”partisan political leaning”
According to a letter written by top Democrats lawmakers to Alex Azar, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the department which was in charge of the ad hired a contractor to examine the political leanings of 274 celebrities in topics such as gay marriage, and abortion as part of the COVID-19 ad.
Three important panels set up by the House have also explained that the HHS may have disregarded federal contracting laws adding that evidence gotten from an email exchange between a contractor and officials of the HHS shows that the administration is trying to interfere in the public health campaign.
The lawmakers explained that investigations have revealed that Michael Caputo, a former member of the Trump campaign who joined HHS this year to ensure that the department is following the White House policies against COVID-19, acted as an intermediary between the contractors and officials of the HHS. According to the lawmakers, Caputo continued his interference even after the department declared that he was on leave.
Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Carolyn Maloney, head of the Select Subcommittee on the COVID-19 pandemic, James Clyburn, and head of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, Raja Krishnamoorthi, disclosed the contents of the documents and the letter on Thursday. They also revealed that an internal HHS document prepared by Atlas Research, a contractor, gives the details of the political leanings of over 200 celebrities who were being considered for the campaign.
The document describes popular singer Adam Levine as “a liberal democrat, a supporter of Obama and a gay rights advocate with fans from different segments of the society”, Lady Gaga, another singer who also appeals to ” super spreaders like Levine” is described as having “no political leaning, despite supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016”. Neil Patrick, an actor, and a singer is described as “being a liberal democrat despite performing for the RNC in 2016” Actor Danny Devito is described as “a strong democrat who hates Republicans.”
In the letter written to the HHS secretary, the democrat lawmakers explain that a person should be eligible for a public service campaign based on his/her potential to connect with the public and not because of political leanings. The lawmakers concluded that the document proves that the administration only wanted to give the job to celebrities who liked the president which is against federal contracting rules.
The HHS hired awarded a contract of $250 million to Fors Marsh, a communications company, and $15 million to Atlas Research which had prepared the documents on the celebrities. CEO of Fors Marsh, Ben Garwaite has stated that his firm has had no dealings with Caputo or the compilation of data of celebrities while a representative of the HHS said the department was investigating the lawmakers’ reports.
Source: cnbc.com
