A top official in President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Department who’s also a member of the White House task force on the coronavirus outbreak struggled to find a map showing the spread of the disease on Monday.

And he appealed to Twitter for help.

Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security, became frustrated when he couldn’t access the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering department’s map showing the latest COVID-19 numbers and locations. He also came out against walls ― paywalls, anyway:

Has the Johns Hopkins map of the coronavirus stopped working for other people, or just me? https://t.co/36uda8fm6P — Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli (@HomelandKen) February 24, 2020

I just tried again, and it looks like Johns Hopkins put the information behind a membership wall of some kind. Seems like bad timing to stop helping the world with this (previously) useful resource. Here's hoping it goes back up soon. — Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli (@HomelandKen) February 24, 2020

As it turned out, the site was simply overwhelmed with traffic. It was back online ― no paywall ― soon enough.

But Twitter users were stunned that a top Trump administration official seemed dependent on the university’s map rather than data from the CDC:

PLEASE can someone tell me that this is a parody account and that our Executive branch has a CLUE of what is going on? PLEASE!?



here are some useful resources for others: https://t.co/aZR9zff4fYhttps://t.co/aBTQdMOxFZhttps://t.co/hRsJnBkHa6 pic.twitter.com/n0JTET1cTx — (((Howard Forman))) (@thehowie) February 24, 2020

there is literally an ENTIRE FEDERAL AGENCY working for you that you could ask to provide you and all Americans with the latest information on the Coronavirus https://t.co/sbXdLaOOeg — L.D. Burnett (@LDBurnett) February 24, 2020

Are you freaking serious? Do you realize this should be something the government should be in charge of anyway? And Trump wants to cut funding to the CDC... — Carolyn McClanahan (@CarolynMcC) February 24, 2020

I think I got a way around sir, What’s your social security number and I’ll get right on that? — Dusty (@DustinGiebel) February 24, 2020

Do you have the benefit of a telephone and relationships with the academic community? — southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) February 24, 2020

Is... is this for real? — Chris Vickery (@VickerySec) February 25, 2020

Now imagining a situation where there's a catastrophe and our government can't take any action because Wikipedia is down. — Ward Q. Normal (@WardQNormal) February 24, 2020

Here you go, Ken. The info, not behind a paywall:



I'm always here to help a hapless newbie unfamiliar with the Internet, especially when they're (*checks notes*) Director of Homeland Security.



(When they outlaw sarcasm, I'm so dead.) https://t.co/0Js1oCGYyq — Dean Gloster (@deangloster) February 24, 2020

Hi Ken:



You do know you're not supposed to send "Nigerian princes" your bank account information, right? — Pé Resists (@4everNeverTrump) February 24, 2020

So, we can pay for Secret Service and lots of people to stay at Mar-a-lago at exorbitant prices, but the government can't pay for updated data on coronavirus? Priorities. — Kate (@Mamaofthreebear) February 24, 2020

Gosh. I guess cutting funding for the CDC was a BAD IDEA. pic.twitter.com/Yte0JTxjWM — Cosmichomicide (@Cosmichomicide) February 24, 2020

Please tell me you’re acting. — Pedro da Costa (@pdacosta) February 24, 2020

Seriously? This is shamefully incompetent. Peoples lives are at stake.



It would behoove you to call in someone who knows what they’re doing. — Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 25, 2020

Just the Department of Homeland Security asking for Tech Support on Twitter...https://t.co/PCMgMdU0F2 pic.twitter.com/bCvIAJHbtH — JudgeYouHarshly (@JudgeYouHarshly) February 24, 2020