Andrew Cuomo book: Meadows threat over hydroxychloroquine
13 October 2020
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo writes in "American Crisis," out Tuesday, that White House chief of staff Mark Meadow implied a threat about federal funding for hospitals in New York state, after he demanded results from tests on hydroxychloroquine.s
Why it matters: President Trump was touting hydroxychloroquine in late March, and Cuomo's allegation — which the White House responded to — suggests a scramble for data that might bolster the president's case.
Cuomo writes that this is what happened when he picked up the phone:
Meadows said that they wanted the results from the tests on hydroxychloroquine. I told him, as I told the president, that the tests were being done by the hospitals and when they were complete they would be sent to the FDA. I didn’t know how long they took, but no one had any interest in causing undue delay.
Meadows then communicated to me that the federal government was about to send out funding for hospitals and strongly implied that if the tests weren’t completed, New York wouldn’t receive any funding.
The White House did not respond to a request for a response.
Go deeper: "Inside Andrew Cuomo's must-see COVID briefings"