President Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force, now led by Vice President Mike Pence, is under heavy criticism. Experts and others are noting most of its members are not physicians, few if any are public health/public policy experts, almost all – possibly just one – are men, and almost all are white. Also, all work for the Trump administration, so there are no outside voices to offer criticism that may be needed.

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Trump officially formed the task force on January 29 – almost two full months after the first case in China was reported December 1 – but it wasn’t until last week that the group made much news, or received much scrutiny.

The original members, just 12, were all men, with just two medical doctors.

The White House responded by quietly adding members to the team, like apparently the only woman, Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the State Department’s global AIDS director who holds the rank of ambassador, The New York Times noted.

This is a critical moment in American policy-making and not a single woman is at the table. That’s despite the fact that women are the health care future: They account for the majority of epidemiologists, make up the majority of doctors under 44 and outnumber men at med school. https://t.co/zm1gf4CwRp — Emily Ramshaw (@eramshaw) March 1, 2020

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The lack of expertise (not to mention diversity) is a huge concern, as this photo, which has been making its way around social media since last week, shows:

Is there a doctor in the house? Mike Pence unveils the White House’s coronavirus taskforce amid growing crisis and Wall Street plunge – with just FOUR medical experts out of 15 chiefs (and one of them isn’t even there) pic.twitter.com/3yy0ozK4Rt — amado jimenez (@ahjs11373) February 28, 2020

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As concerns grow MSNBC’s Steve Bennen asked, “What does it take to qualify for Trump’s coronavirus task force?” It was a rhetorical question, as there don’t seem to be any specific pre-requisites.

Except perhaps one?

Another photo from last week is all of a sudden getting attention. It shows Vice President Mike Pence and the members of the Coronavirus Task Force praying in the White House.

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Thomas Chatterton Williams, who writes at The New York Times Magazine and Harpers, was disturbed:

Mike Pence and his coronavirus emergency team praying for a solution. We are so screwed. pic.twitter.com/p020FBIK9J — Thomas Chatterton Williams 🌍 🎧 (@thomaschattwill) March 1, 2020

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They’re treating this disease with the seriousness and urgency they bring to gun violence… — Thomas Chatterton Williams 🌍 🎧 (@thomaschattwill) March 1, 2020

Some religious right activists, like National Organization For Marriage co-founder, Professor Robert George, took issue with the criticism:

I don’t know anything about Mr. Williams, but this photograph and his comment perfectly illustrate the profound division in our culture. It’s “obvious” to some of us that one of the things you do in a crisis is pray. It’s “obvious” to others that praying is (worse than) foolish. https://t.co/pBkAJX3Ygo — Robert P. George (@McCormickProf) March 2, 2020

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But some other conservatives, like U.S. Naval War College professor Tom Nichols, is also critical. Nichols explains that “a meeting in a U.S. government office to deal with a virus is not an opportunity for a public prayer photo-op.”

Or maybe there’s another reaction that even people of faith who pray every day – I am one of them – might have to this, which is that a meeting in a U.S. government office to deal with a virus is not an opportunity for a public prayer photo-op. /1 https://t.co/S6U2NxjKdw — Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 2, 2020

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Nichols adds, “if I were asked to assemble the team of the best I could find to handle a crisis, I would not assume all of them are people of faith, nor would I assume that the people of faith among us are of *my* faith.”

Or maybe there’s another reaction that even people of faith who pray every day – I am one of them – might have to this, which is that a meeting in a U.S. government office to deal with a virus is not an opportunity for a public prayer photo-op. /1 https://t.co/S6U2NxjKdw — Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 2, 2020

Of course, Trump ally Franklin Graham, is thrilled:

A touching & powerful photo of @VP @Mike_Pence & the President’s Coronavirus Taskforce praying when they met last week in his office. Thank you VP Pence and each one who is serving. Let’s join them in asking God for His wisdom, direction, & help in the response to this virus. pic.twitter.com/9tbMhSWe7d — Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) March 2, 2020

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Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, a fellow at the Center for American Progress’ Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative sums it up:

The problem is not that Pence prays. People can pray and believe in science. The problem is that Pence is not one of those people. His brand of conservative Christianity casts doubt on science in the name of faith. That’s why people are concerned about him. #coronavirus. https://t.co/fA1d4N3aJh — Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons (@GuthrieGF) March 2, 2020