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Worrying your child will go hungry is the most basic fear of every mother. As a mom of two myself, I can only imagine the panic and anxiety mothers all over the country are feeling as they go to store after store seeking baby formula for their infants and find empty shelves instead. It’s embarrassing and unacceptable that this is happening in America. Worse, it could have been prevented.
For months, the Biden administration saw shortages on the horizon. Back in October, a whistleblower alerted the FDA about possible problems at Abbott Nutrition, the largest provider of infant formula in the country. In February, Abbott issued a recall of its baby formula before the Michigan producer temporarily shut down entirely. Fearing a run on baby formula, the FDA warned the White House of impending shortages.
But apparently, Joe Biden either never got the memo or chose to ignore it. Biden claims he didn’t find out about the baby formula crisis until early April. But even if that’s true, he didn’t bother to do anything until mid-May when stores reached a 43% out of stock rate. It’s only gotten worse since then.
Biden has washed his hands of this crisis, claiming it might’ve been averted if they had been “mind readers.” But the Biden administration knew about the formula for months. They simply failed to act.
And they’re still failing. As stores reported their baby formula supply had hit a 70% out-of-stock rate, the White House took to their website—which offers no practical resources for anxious families—to brag about the “progress” they’ve made in addressing the formula crisis. Meanwhile, mothers are desperately searching for formula to feed their babies. Some are even waiting on tarmacs for supplements being flown in from overseas. But airlifting baby formula from other countries is not a solution. And it’s hardly enough: the first European shipment of 78,000 pounds of formula for children with allergies is only enough to feed 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers for a week.
Still, according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden has full confidence in his FDA Commissioner Robert Califf. That means the blame rests squarely with Biden, whether he realizes it or not. All of this raises so many questions. Biden Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra admitted the administration knew for a year that trouble was ahead—why weren’t they prepared? Did Biden know, or was he kept in the dark? And after he was made aware of the formula crisis, why did he take weeks to act? It doesn’t add up.
It’s infuriating, but it’s exactly what you would expect from this administration. Since Biden was sworn in, we’ve seen out-of-control gas prices that are making everyday tasks like driving to work and school exorbitantly expensive. Basic groceries like milk and eggs get pricier every month, straining household budgets. For months, the administration and Democrats kept kids out of school and forced toddlers to wear masks in the classroom, even though the virus posed very little threat to them. When students are in school, they’re taught to be ashamed to be Americans, indoctrinated with sexually-explicit propaganda, and told they are either racist or oppressed according to their skin color. And if you’re a concerned parent speaking out at a school board meeting, Biden’s Department of Justice might treat you as a possible domestic terrorist.
America’s baby formula crisis captures the Biden administration in a nutshell: incompetent, blame-shifting, and uncaring. As a result, babies are going hungry. If Biden thinks moms are going to forget about this by November 8th, he’s in for a surprise.
Ronna McDaniel is a politician and political strategist serving as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) since 2017. She was chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 2015 to 2017 // Ronna McDaniel es política y estratega política, se desempeña como presidenta del Comité Nacional Republicano (RNC) desde 2017. Fue presidenta del Partido Republicano de Michigan de 2015 a 2017.