In April 2020, Max Kennedy Jr., a volunteer assigned to the White House Coronavirus Task Force’s Supply-Chain Task Force, anonymously submitted a complaint to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Kennedy later told The New Yorker that a team of roughly a dozen young volunteers worked from FEMA headquarters using personal computers and private email accounts, despite handling federal medical-supply operations. He described the response as chaotic and alleged that the operation functioned like a private family office rather than a normal government program.
Kennedy alleged that Brad Smith, an appointee directing the task force, pressured him to build a model using false projections of U.S. coronavirus fatalities; Kennedy said he refused. He also alleged that staff were instructed to prioritize requests from President Donald Trump’s supporters and associates, including television host Jeanine Pirro, and to route millions of dollars in medical supplies through five preselected distributors. These claims are attributed to Kennedy’s complaint and interviews rather than established court findings. He resigned later in April 2020 and subsequently worked on Joe Biden’s campaign; the episode was featured in Alex Gibney’s 2020 documentary Totally Under Control.
