Democrats Ask Watchdog to Review Hiring of 'Operation Warp Speed' Chief Scientist
Democratic lawmakers announced on Friday they asked a government watchdog to investigate the process by which the top adviser for the Trump administration’s multi-billion dollar public-private partnership for coronavirus vaccine development was hired, due to ethics concerns.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., wrote to the General Services Administration inspector general seeking a review of the circumstances under which Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief scientist for the administration’s “Operation Warp Speed,” was hired as a government contractor. Leadership for the initiative also includes Gen. Gus Perna, a four-star general who serves as the commanding general of the Army’s Materiel Command, the chief operating officer. Slaoui, an immunologist, has been under scrutiny since he was brought on in mid-May as he is a former pharmaceutical executive. The Health and Human Services Department told The Washington Post that he adheres to “our robust department ethical standards.”
If Slaoui were a federal employee, he would “be required to fully disclose and divest all of his holdings that present a potential conflict of interest,” Porter and Warren wrote. “But instead, he was brought on as a contractor via a contract with Advanced Decision Vectors LLC, under which he was reportedly paid $1 for his services. As a result, he is exempt from federal ethics rules, allowing him to retain his [GlaxoSmithKine] stock and other holdings.”
They also noted that even though Slaoui is only accepting $1, his housing expenses and those of several other pharmaceutical executives working on the vaccine initiative are being covered under the contract, as Politico reported in July.
https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/11/democrats-ask-watchdog-review-hiring-operation-warp-speed-chief-scientist/169727/
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