A week before the U.S. stock market started to slump, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr — while reassuring the public that the nation was prepared for a pandemic.
The Republican is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and received classified briefings about the coronavirus, which has critics wondering if he used that information illegally. NPR also reported on a Burr gave to a luncheon of donors about the coronavirus outbreak. The senator shared dire warnings of the impacts of the virus. Meanwhile his public comments about the virus did not convey the same urgency. Host Anita Rao talks to վ Capitol Bureau Chief Jeff Tiberii about this controversy and about the role of Burr in the passage of a relief bill on Capitol Hill.