The White House trade adviser Peter Navarro blew up at Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US's top infectious-disease expert, during a fraught coronavirus task force meeting in the Situation Room on Saturday, Axios reported.

The argument stemmed from a disagreement over how much the White House should back hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment.

Navarro reportedly touted the drug's "clear therapeutic efficacy," while Fauci said there was only anecdotal evidence about its effectiveness.

Fauci's comments "just set Peter off," a source told Axios, and Navarro went on to accuse Fauci of opposing President Donald Trump's travel restrictions for China. Fauci, who has praised Trump's actions, "looked confused," the report said.

Vice President Mike Pence tried to calm the situation, while "everyone was just trying to get Peter to sit down and stop being so confrontational," a source told the news website.

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The White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US's top expert on infectious diseases, erupted into a fight during a coronavirus task force meeting on Saturday, Axios reported on Sunday.

At the center of the argument was how much the White House should back a malaria drug called hydroxychloroquine in fighting the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19.

According to Axios, the discussion began when Stephen Hahn, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner, updated the task force on what he'd seen from drug trials and real-life results. At that point, Navarro, who has no background in science or medicine, distributed folders and praised the "clear therapeutic efficacy" of the drug, a source familiar with the conversation told the news website.

"Those are the exact words out of his mouth," the source told Axios.

Navarro's remarks sparked significant pushback from public-health officials, including Fauci, who said that the drug was still experimental and that there's no proof it's an effective treatment for COVID-19.

Fauci said there was only anecdotal evidence suggesting that hydroxychloroquine is useful against COVID-19, which "just set Peter off," a source told Axios. Navarro pointed to the folders and told Fauci, "That's science, not anecdote," another source said.

Navarro then reportedly accused Fauci of opposing President Donald Trump's restrictions on travel from China, saying, "You were the one who early on objected to the travel restrictions with China."

Fauci, who backed the restrictions and has voiced support for Trump's announcement, "looked confused," Axios said, citing a source who was in the room. Vice President Mike Pence, the head of the task force, was trying to calm the situation, while "everyone was just trying to get Peter to sit down and stop being so confrontational," a source said.

Eventually, Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who also has no medical or scientific training, told Navarro to "take yes for an answer," as the task force agreed that hydroxychloroquine should be sent to the most affected areas, Axios reported.

The "principals" on the task force also agreed that the administration's public stance should be that the decision whether to use the drug is between physicians and their patients, the report said.

"There has never been a confrontation in the task force meetings like the one yesterday," a source familiar with the argument told Axios. "People speak up and there's robust debate, but there's never been a confrontation. Yesterday was the first confrontation."

Trump ended up spending a significant part of Saturday's coronavirus task force briefing touting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.

"What do you have to lose?" Trump said. "Take it. I really think they should take it. But it's their choice, and it's their doctor's choice, or the doctors in the hospital. But hydroxychloroquine — try it, if you'd like."

Near the end of Sunday's briefing, a CNN reporter directed a question about the drug to Fauci, asking, "What is the medical evidence?"

Fauci started to answer before Trump cut him off.

"Do you know how many times he's answered that question? Maybe 15," Trump said.

Fauci glanced at the president before turning to the reporter, who said, "He's your medical expert, correct?"

Trump interjected again, telling the reporter, "You don't have to ask the question."

Axios' reporting and the tension during Sunday's news briefing highlighted what appears to be growing disagreement between the task force's public-health experts — like Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx — and Trump's political advisers. Health officials have been cautious about publicly pushing hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment, while Trump and his political advisers have thrown their weight behind it as coronavirus surges across the US.

The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11. As of Monday, it had infected 1.3 million people around the world and killed more than 70,000 people. In the US, there were more than 338,000 confirmed cases and 9,600 deaths.

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