Gov. Hogan Asks President Trump For Access To Federal Labs

Gov. Larry Hogan wrote Tuesday to President Donald Trump to allow the state to use federal labs to process COVID-19 tests and to seek guidance on how to move forward with that collaboration.

“Maryland is fortunate to have a plethora of federal installations with the potential to play a critical role in increasing our testing capacity, including Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Detrick, Fort Meade, the National Institutes of Health, and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,” Hogan wrote. “These federal labs can be key to our utilizing the 500,000 tests we recently acquired from South Korea and our comprehensive recovery plan to get Marylanders back to work as safely and quickly as possible."

The testing kits arrived Saturday on a charter flight from Seoul. The $9 million deal was announced Monday.

Hogan said Monday that the administration had left states to their own devices when it came to acquiring tests. In a briefing later that day, Trump criticized Hogan, a fellow Republican and leader of the National Governors Association.

"The governor of Maryland could have called (Vice President) Mike Pence. He could have saved a lot of money," Trump said. “I don’t think he needed to go to South Korea. I think he needed to get a little knowledge -- would have been helpful."

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Pence said he didn't know when Hogan placed the order but said he "wouldn't begrudge him or his health officials for ordering tests."

Trump said there were a number of federal labs able to process tests. However, Hogan told CNN on Monday night that his administration had been trying for some time to get access to National Institutes of Health labs. He then made an informal version of Tuesday's request on Twitter.

I’m grateful to President Trump for sending us a list of federal labs and generously offering Maryland use of them for #COVID19 testing. Accessing these federal labs will be critical for utilizing the 500,000 tests we have acquired from South Korea. — Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) April 21, 2020

“These federal labs can be key to our utilizing the 500,000 tests we recently acquired from South Korea and our comprehensive recovery plan to get Marylanders back to work as safely and quickly as possible,” Hogan wrote in the letter.

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Robert Lang and The Associated Press contributed to this report.