Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement after testimony by:

• Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC
• Dr. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at HHS
• Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of food and drugs at the FDA

“I strongly agree with all the doctors who testified today that we must not reopen the country prematurely or we risk lives and greater harm to the economy.

“Dr. Fauci warned before the hearing of ‘multiple outbreaks throughout the country’ if we move too quickly to reopen the nation. This stands in contrast to President Trump, who yesterday said, ‘We have prevailed.’

“We have not yet prevailed, and the data clearly shows that. Nationwide there have been 1.3 million positive cases and more than 80,000 deaths, with more than 1,100 dead over the last 24 hours. In California, there have been 1,500 new cases since yesterday and 50 deaths. Numbers don’t lie, and these numbers certainly don’t call for a victory lap. They call for caution.

“The question comes down to who we should trust. Dr. Fauci has worked for five decades at the NIH and is director of our top institution for infectious diseases. President Trump, on the other hand, has a career in real estate and no health care expertise.

“We would all be wise to trust the doctor with more than 50 years of experience over the president’s instinct. We need a gradual, thoughtful reopening of the country based on science and data to prevent another wave of infections. To accomplish that, we need to listen to the experts and move forward wisely.”