Key health official says removal was political: What you need to know today on coronavirus

A new controversy arose Wednesday when the former head of a federal office working on vaccine development, Rick Bright, said he was forced out due to political reasons. 

States are moving forward with their plans to increase testing and contact tracing, even as they ask the federal government for help. 

And two senators are pushing for a much larger federal investment in contact tracing as a key step to reopening the economy. 

Here’s what you need to know today: 

In Congress and the Administration

• The former head of a federal office working on vaccine development said he was pushed out for resisting the broad use of an unproven coronavirus treatment touted by President Trump and that the administration is putting “cronyism” ahead of science. Nathaniel Weixel reports. 
• Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to spend $55 billion per year to hire hundreds of thousands of workers for a Health Force to do contact tracing, testing and eventually vaccination. Peter Sullivan reports.
• The battle is heating up over the next phase of Congress’s coronavirus response, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warns about the impact on the deficit of new spending. Alexander Bolton reports.
• FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said a new at-home coronavirus test is as accurate as one collected by a doctor, as officials hope the new test helps expand capacity. Aris Folley reports.

In the states

• New York is partnering with New Jersey and Connecticut to launch a “massive effort” around contact tracing, with help from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Justine Coleman reports.
• Connecticut reached a deal to increase its testing capacity by 80 percent, providing 2,000 more tests per day in partnership with Quest Diagnostics. Read more here.
• Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms is urging residents to stay home even as the state’s governor is moving to reopen the state, calling on people to “look at the science.” Read more here.
• California issued guidelines for priority coronavirus testing for people in high-risk settings like nursing homes and prisons, even if they are asymptomatic. Read more here.

Other news

• Coronavirus has upended the food industry and led to wave of plant closures. Niv Elis runs through five threats to the food supply chain. Read more here.    
• 41 percent of Americans said the coronavirus situation is getting better, while 39 percent said it is getting worse, according to a new Gallup poll. Read more here.  
• The first American to die of coronavirus succumbed weeks earlier than originally thought, as new autopsies from California showed the first death was someone in early February, not a late February death as previously thought. Reid Wilson and Aris Folley report.
• A new fear with coronavirus: Doctors are warning some younger patients with milder symptoms are having strokes. Zack Budryk reports.