As reported by Reuters:
On January 21, the day the first U.S. case of coronavirus was reported, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services appeared on Fox News to report the latest on the disease as it ravaged China. Alex Azar, a 52-year-old lawyer and former drug industry executive, assured Americans the U.S. government was prepared...
Shortly after his televised comments, Azar tapped a trusted aide with minimal public health experience to lead the agency’s day-to-day response to COVID-19. The aide, Brian Harrison, had joined the department after running a dog-breeding business for six years...
Harrison, 37, was an unusual choice, with no formal education in public health, management, or medicine and with only limited experience in the fields. In 2006, he joined HHS in a one-year stint as a “Confidential Assistant” to Azar, who was then deputy secretary. He also had posts working for Vice President Dick Cheney, the Department of Defense and a Washington public relations company.
Before joining the Trump Administration in January 2018, Harrison’s official HHS biography says, he “ran a small business in Texas.” The biography does not disclose the name or nature of that business, but his personal financial disclosure forms show that from 2012 until 2018 he ran a company called Dallas Labradoodles...
This January, Harrison became a key manager of the HHS virus response. “Everyone had to report up through him,” said one HHS official...
By the end of February, Azar and Harrison were no longer running the White House task force. That month, Vice President Pence took control.More information at Reuters - whence the image (cropped for size).
From the Federalist:
ReplyDeleteHarrison held positions in the Social Security Administration, worked on payroll tax policy in the George W. Bush administration, served with Azar in the HHS general counsel during the Bush administration, and worked for former Vice President Dick Cheney in both the White House and the Pentagon. Yet, media outlets are portraying Harrison has having no experience in anything other than breeding labradoodles.
Michael Reilly told the Dallas Morning News. Michael Reilly, who previously hired Harrison for a job at HHS under Bush, told the Dallas Morning News, “Brian was a no-brainer pick. His private sector experience is irrelevant… he was a completely known commodity who had extensive experience.”
I majored in Chemical Engineering, worked for four years as a lab director at DuPont, then got transferred to public relations and set up a core curriculum for new employees. I am a Deacon at my church and coordinated the annual ecumenical gatherings. I am also certified as a Master Gardener. I have extensive documentation of my qualifications and a sheaf of letters of recommendation.
DeleteThat's why I'm an ideal candidate to be wide receivers coach for the Cincinnati Bengals.
His private sector experience is irrelevant… he was a completely known commodity who had extensive experience.
ReplyDeleteSo, he's 37, and 6 years of his private sector experience is irrelevant. So, someone that's worked for about a decade has extensive experience in stuff that admittedly is not relevant to the job he's taking.
All these guys are the best only if by 'the best' you mean absolutely devoid of relevant experience. If you believe the government can't do anything right, there's no point in having experience.
Steve Bannon's plan of destroying the federal government proceeds according to plan. The price for this plan is a few hundred thousand of deaths. And a couple of trillion in wasted spending. America remains a great experiment!