Fighting COVID, Kansas and Missouri governors must forge new White House relationship
Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson was a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, defending him even after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly complained about the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response last spring but later appeared next to him at the White House.
Both governors in their own ways cultivated working relationships with the departed administration amid a deadly pandemic that has required significant federal assistance and cooperation.
But now their modes of operation with Washington are undergoing a reset. As COVID-19’s toll mounts and a massive vaccination campaign crawls along, the two state leaders must build fresh ties with a Biden administration.
“Whatever I can do to work with an administration to put Missouri first here in the state, I will do. I’ve always done that,” Parson told reporters Wednesday, though he wouldn’t respond directly when asked if Biden was legitimately elected.
Kelly’s office said the governor “leveraged her relationship” with the Trump administration to lead the state’s COVID-19 response, secure personal protective equipment and keep meatpacking plants open.
“The Governor understands that a similarly strong relationship with the Biden administration will be essential to quickly and safely vaccinate Kansans and to support and strengthen our economy,” Kelly spokeswoman Reeves Oyster said in a statement.
As Biden enters office, both opportunities and pitfalls are ahead for the governors.
Without Trump, Parson has lost the Republican chief executive he tirelessly championed. . And with Republicans the minority in Congress for at least the next two years, Missouri’s GOP-dominated delegation will hold less sway in the Capitol.
As a Democratic governor, Kelly may find her connections to Washington bolstered by a Democratic administration. But as she edges closer to the 2022 re-election season, Republicans are almost certain to try to link Kelly to any stumbles taken by Biden and the Democratic congressional majority.
COVID-19 has only underscored the importance of the governors’ relationship with the president. The federal government looms over both states’ responses to the crisis.
In the early weeks of the pandemic, as Kansas ranked among the bottom of states in testing, Kelly repeatedly expressed frustration that her calls for coronavirus supplies had gone unmet by the federal government. After a reporter asked about Kansas during a White House news conference, Vice President Mike Pence called.
“Laura Kelly is going to have much more ability with the Biden administration to say here’s actually what my state needs and be taken seriously by the Biden administration on her terms,” said Chris Reeves, Kansas Democratic national committeeman.
Despite their differences, Trump handed Kelly a public relations victory in May when the governor appeared with the president at the White House. Trump said Kelly, who had worked with the administration to prevent meatpacking plants from closing as cases rose among workers, was doing a “fantastic job.”
The president’s praise came at a critical moment for Kelly, who was battling with Kansas Republicans over the scope of her emergency powers. Kelly eventually forged a compromise with the Republican-controlled Legislature.
In Missouri, Parson is likely to come under even more pressure over his refusal to issue a statewide mask mandate. Biden, who is staunchly pro-mask, is requiring their use on federal property and has been outspoken in encouraging Americans to wear them.
Biden’s support for mask use stands in stark contrast to Trump, who often refused to wear one. Under Trump, the White House issued regular reports about the spread of COVID-19 in states. The reports on Missouri recommended masks, though the White House didn’t publicize them.
Biden’s presidency may also affect vaccine distribution in both Kansas and Missouri. The new president vows to speed delivery of the vaccine to states in an effort to give shots to more people faster.
Many states remain unable to vaccinate large swaths of the population yet because of severely limited supplies. Doses are allocated to states by the federal government based on population.
As of Thursday, 312,000 doses had been distributed to Kansas and approximately 130,000 administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Missouri had received 621,200 doses and administered roughly 265,000. Health officials in both states have faulted data reporting delays for the gap between the number of doses distributed and administered.
Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said two weeks ago the Biden transition sent him a memo asking about what issues Missouri was having with vaccine distribution and wanting to go over the state’s plan. Williams said he replied.
Williams, speaking Wednesday afternoon, said he had received two emails that day alone from the Biden team.
“Right before I walked in here, I got another email wanting -- a query asking us about vaccination distribution again,” Williams said at a news conference.
Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines call for two shots. Biden, in a break with Trump, plans to release shipments of first doses faster.
Still, Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Lee Norman cautions against any expectation that the new administration will suddenly mean a lot more doses.
“It’s really too soon to call ... a major change tomorrow, obviously, with an outgoing and incoming president, and we have not really been briefed yet on what, if any changes there will be,” Norman told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Norman said he has weekly calls with Army Gen. Gustave Perna, who is helping lead Operation Warp Speed. Perna has indicated the possibility of a small uptick in the number of doses available, Norman said.
But the boost would only amount to a percent or two in the short run.
“So the shortages are something we’re going to have to live with,” Norman said.
Kansas state Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican, said legislators don’t have concerns with the new Biden administration’s vaccine operation. “It is how the Kelly administration, particularly the Kansas Department of Health, is handling the process,” Baumgardner said.
Parson, also facing his own extremely limited supply of doses for Missouri, urged the new administration to quickly ship more.
“The one thing I will tell you with the COVID-19, the vaccine, you know, I don’t care who ships out the vaccine, just ship it out,” Parson said. “Get it to Missouri. Get it to me in Missouri, I can take it from there.”
The Wichita Eagle’s Dion Lefler contributed reporting
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
