The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee this week criticized closing schools in his home state, California, as “way overkill” — even as President Trump came to a reckoning over the number of people who could die during the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawmaker, Representative Devin G. Nunes, played down the gravity of the outbreak during a Tuesday night appearance on Fox News.

“Look, the schools were just canceled out here in California, which is way overkill,” Mr. Nunes said. “It’s possible kids could have went back to school in two weeks to four weeks, but they just canceled the rest of the schools.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Nunes, 46, who represents parts of Tulare and Fresno Counties, started trending on Twitter because of his comments, which were widely condemned.