WASHINGTON, DC – During a House Oversight and Accountability hearing on federal COVID spending, Congressman Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) called into question the Trump Administration’s inner circle willingness to dole out contracts to those with access, instead of going through the normal procurement process. Moskowitz is concerned that Trump’s inner circle drove up prices for states like Florida who needed medical gear during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moskowitz stated strongly during the hearing that: “COVID was not a two-year event, it was a three-year event. I am more than happy to join with the majority and look at the fraud and abuse that went on during the last two years of the COVID response. But I think it’s only fair to look at the beginning of the disaster and amount of government waste that was created by the Federal government sole sourcing contracts and negotiating pricing from within the White House, subverting the process from Federal agencies. Not only did that drive up cost and waste, it filtered down to all fifty states. This is because if the Federal government was paying more money, contractors knew they could drive up the cost of supplies for the state of Florida. This forced Federal agencies to then waste Federal dollars and reimburse states for goods because the Trump Inner Circle drove up those prices.”

Full video of Moskowitz during the hearing is found here.