State governors are taking to smuggling PPE to get around the feds

[Faffenreffer]

@lumbercartel

Because if they aren’t confiscated on entry, they’ll go to the buyers instead of being distributed by the Feds to the private firms entitled to distribute them to the States

@Mister44

Can you link to how this is working? I haven’t heard about this particular process yet.

I think this is what @lumbercartel is talking about:

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/you-need-to-look-at-this

The US has established an airbridge of flights from abroad to bring in supplies of masks, gowns, all the supplies we’re hearing are in short supply. But in answer to a question from Weijia Jiang of CBS News, the Admiral in charge of this effort explained that those supplies mainly are not going to FEMA or the states. They’re going to private sector distributors.

There’s video (I can’t get it to work) of Rear Admiral Polowczyk explaining this in a press conference. According to Heather Cox Williams, his justification for going through the private sector was , “I’m not here to disrupt a [commercial] supply chain.”

ETA a relevant post from @RickMycroft

Ongoing coronavirus happenings

Tell me that they’re not selling the contents of the Strategic National Stockpile to distributors, who put it up for bidding war by the states. (My brain says “Of course they are!” but I never trust my brain.)