President Donald Trump on Wednesday appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead a task force to combat the spread of the coronavirus, defying calls to appoint an outside expert to coordinate the response.
Speaking during a rare appearance in the White House briefing room, Trump said Pence’s experience handling health crises as Indiana governor qualified him to spearhead the growing threat of a global coronavirus outbreak. The move came as the Centers for Disease Control confirmed a coronavirus infection in California that was not linked to overseas travel, a concerning development that brought the total number of U.S. infections to
