Schoettes was among those who quit in June, and he went out with a fiery commentary in Newsweek. “The Trump Administration has no strategy to address the on-going HIV/AIDS epidemic, seeks zero input from experts to formulate HIV policy, and — most concerning — pushes legislation that will harm people living with HIV and halt or reverse important gains made in the fight against this disease,” he wrote in the column.
“We tried to stick it out,” Schoettes told The Washington Post on Friday. “The fact is you’re dealing with a public health issue. It’s not partisan at all.”
But the “writing was on the wall,” he continued. The Office of National AIDS Policy, established in 1993 during the Clinton administration, has not had a director since Donald Trump took office. “The tipping point for me was the president’s approach to the Affordable Care Act,” Schoettes said. “It is of great importance for people living with HIV like myself.”
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