On Thursday, 4/2/2020, Jared Kushner said the following regarding the national stockpile of medical supplies:
“The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile. It’s not supposed to be states’ stockpiles that they then use,” he said. “So we’re encouraging the states to make sure that they’re assessing the needs, they’re getting the data from their local situations, and then trying to fill it with the supplies that we’ve given them.” (emphasis mine)
So, if not the states, who does “our” refer to? Is the intent for the federal government to distribute masks themselves, bypassing the states? If so, how, when and, maybe most importantly, why?
According to POLITICO, the Strategic National Stockpile website was updated to align with Jared’s remarks shortly after he made them. The website previously said: “Strategic National Stockpile is the nation’s largest supply of lifesaving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.”