Xavier Becerra, a nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, is backpedaling on the Biden administration’s message on the coronavirus pandemic after President Biden gave a grim outlook on the country’s immediate future.
During a news conference on Friday Biden said there’s “nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months” and warned that a lack of action would only result in even more foreclosures and evictions. Becerra assured that the administration has a plan but results will not be immediate.
Becerra told “State of the Union” host Dana Bash, “I believe President Biden made it very clear, the plane is in a nosedive, and we gotta pull it up. And you’re not going to do that overnight. But we’re gonna pull it up, we have to pull it up. Failure’s not an option here, and so we will.”
Biden’s plan is “a rescue plan that should be followed by a recovery plan,” Becerra said and added that the government must first “rescue the people” and the economy.
“We can do better, we cannot only control Covid, but get us back to real normality, but it takes everybody. All hands-on deck,” says President Biden’s HHS Secretary nominee Xavier Becerra. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/ySxspuoJqh
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) January 24, 2021
Becerra was asked if he believed the administration can actually change the pandemic’s trajectory. He responded by saying it would not happen “overnight,” but noted that progress would only be possible if people work together.
“We can do better,” Becerra said. “We can not only control Covid but get us back to real normality. But it takes everybody. All hands on deck. We’ve got to make sure we’re coordinated. And we are talking to people. We can’t just tell the states, ‘Here’s some PPE, some masks, here’s some vaccines, now go do it.’ No, no. When we hand them over, we stay with them and provide resources to make it happen.”
Becerra also said that the simple act of everyone wearing facemasks would be enough to make a big impact.
“If we get people following the president’s guidance of wearing a mask for the first 100 days, we’re going to get control of this thing,” he claimed.