President Donald Trump has lost patience with the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, as well as with the other public health experts on his coronavirus team because their sober messaging on the future of the pandemic clashes with his rosy assessments.

Trump believes that breakthroughs are not coming swiftly enough, according to people familiar with the President’s thinking. Trump’s frustrations have caused some to question whether Redfield is on the chopping block, but a Trump adviser said they did not expect the President to make major staffing changes before the election…

Just last week, Redfield walked back strong and scientifically-based comments he made about the importance of masks and the timeline for a vaccine after Trump publicly contradicted him and said he had made a mistake. Some CDC sources said Redfield has been careful to toe the White House’s political line while two senior officials called Redfield an “ineffective communicator.”…

“I do think staff are feeling pretty down,” a veteran CDC official told CNN. “We pride ourselves on serving the American people and being accused of sedition or not being trusted weighs on us.”