This morning, for the first time in two months, I flew to D.C. to go to work.

Logan Airport was empty. I shared a plane with eight (masked) passengers. Shortly after I landed, I stepped into a House committee room on Capitol Hill for the first time months – gloves and mask on, wiping down the chair and desk around me.

I was there to question Rick Bright, a vaccine expert who was ousted by Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services for doing his duty: blowing the whistle on the administration’s failed response to COVID-19.

His testimony and responses to my questions made one thing abundantly clear: This Administration knew how unprepared we were, and chose to do nothing.

When I asked when there were first concerns about COVID-19, Mr. Bright responded: “Early January.”

Early January. We could have acted sooner. But this administration chose not to. Now 80,000 Americans are dead.

We could have saved lives.

To make it even worse, Mr. Bright confirmed that the outgoing Obama Administration ran a pandemic simulation for Trump’s team back in 2017, which uncovered systemic flaws in our country’s readiness for a virus like COVID-19. Instead of taking it seriously, the Trump administration decimated CDC budgets and gutted the White House Pandemic Response Team on the National Security Council.

Mr. Bright answered my questions today to the best of his abilities. I appreciate him shedding light on the President’s response. But it only reinforced what we already knew: The Trump Administration botched this crisis from the start.

And for me, it reinforced exactly why I decided to run for Senate – because we need stronger leadership in Washington. Not just to take on Donald Trump but to take on the decades of bad judgment and bad choices that left us so vulnerable to this virus in the first place.

The effort to recover and rebuild will be the fight of a generation. And I’ll be in it with you, every step of the way.

We have a difficult Senate race ahead. If you agree we need stronger leadership in Washington, please chip in $3 or $25 to our fight. Every donation and every bit you are able to send is critical, with only 110 days left in this race.

If you can’t pitch in today, that is okay. Know, your support, your advocacy and being part of this fight means the world. Know that I will continue to do everything I can to fight to hold the Trump administration accountable. We need resources. We need relief. We need recovery. And I will fight for you every step of the way. Be well. Be safe. Talk soon.

– Joe