Given the situation with COVID-19, I was reminded of a Politico article from earlier this winter describing a feud between Seema Verma and Alex Azar, both now members of the COVID-19 “task force” led by Pence:
Azar, Verma battle for Trump’s favor amid White House showdown
and
White House prepared short list to shake up HHS leadership
This might help to explain the Trump administration’s clusterf*ck of a response so far. Putting someone who doesn’t believe in evolution in charge of the task force likely didn’t help (though I’m sure everyone appreciates his prayers). And maybe the president’s inability to understand–well, anything that doesn’t fit on a post-it note–might be contributing to the confusion.