Former Vice President Joe Biden slammed the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic early Tuesday, claiming it was "responsible for one of the most significant failures of governance of any administration in modern history."

Biden's statement was released hours before Vice President Mike Pence was due in Madison to visit a GE Healthcare manufacturing facility to highlight the production of ventilators

Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee, said while Pence's visit "is meant to signal victory, the truth is that the slow and erratic response we have seen from this administration is anything but."

He accused the administration of failing "to heed warnings and adequately prepare our nation. It has failed to sufficiently ramp up the production of critical equipment, like ventilators, masks, and other personal protective equipment through the Defense Production Act (DPA)."

Biden said governors have scrambled for supplies, while the administration "has actively stood in the way of some of those efforts," and he criticized the administration for failing to surge COVID-19 tests nationally.

Biden urged Congress "to establish a Pandemic Testing Board," and also recommended implementing the Defense Production Act "for urgently needed lab supplies like swabs."

“American lives are on the line," Biden said. "Every day matters. This attempt to use Wisconsin as the backdrop to a political photo opportunity comes as the state is suffering a devastating loss of life to COVID-19, particularly in the African American community, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin workers have filed for unemployment in recent weeks, and Republicans drive dangerous efforts to prematurely end social distancing efforts. The Trump administration is hoping that Wisconsinites have a short memory."

More:'A perfect storm': African Americans in Milwaukee, already facing health disparities, hit hard by coronavirus

More:More than 300,000 Wisconsin residents have filed for unemployment in the past month. Many still await a payment.

Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican Party, said President Donald Trump and the White House coronavirus task force "have led an unprecedented, comprehensive effort and aggressive full America approach."

"And it includes everyone, Republicans and Democrats," McDaniel said in a teleconference Monday.

But she accused Democrats in Congress of failing to come to a quick agreement for added funding for the small business Paycheck Protection Program. Republicans and Democrats voiced optimism that a vote on a package could come this week.

McDaniel said Trump's plan to open America "will prioritize the health and safety of the American people, especially our seniors and most vulnerable. It will work in conjunction with governors and local leaders across the country to make sure that it's done in a way that's responsible, keeps people safe and healthy but allows us to continue tp slowly open our economy and help these businesses."