Trump officials clash with senators over coronavirus response

By RACHEL ROUBEIN and ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN02/25/2020 11:32 AM ESTUpdated: 02/25/2020 03:39 PM ESTLink CopiedThe Trump administration on Tuesday faced a new threat in the mounting coronavirus crisis: a big bipartisan backlash.Administration officials tried to swat away concerns their emergency request for $2.5 billion to address the outbreak was not enough even as some Republicans joined Democrats in criticizing the amount — and a lack of transparency around efforts to contain the disease on U.S. soil.AdvertisementThe closed-door briefing with more than a dozen senators came amid new fears of an outbreak in the United States, with a top Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official warning that spread of the respiratory illness in the country is now inevitable. But Kudlow suggested that the virus's impact was "not going to last forever.”Senate Republicans leaders are still debating how quickly to process the administration's emergency request, with funding for several other health programs due to expire in May. An emergency package could be approved as early as next month, if circumstances warrant.“It’s going to be done in a fairly timely way, it’s just what the context might be and what might move with it," said Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.).The emergency request proposes using unspent money, including hundreds of millions of dollars approved in fiscal 2020 to fight Ebola.