Gohmert: CDC Director Commands 'Democrats' War on Women Nurses'

HOUSTON, Texas — Congressman Louie Gohmert (R) slammed United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden for his handling of the Ebola crisis in Texas. On Glenn Beck’s radio program Gohmert called Frieden the “new commander of the Democrats’ war on women nurses.”

The Texas Congressman added, “They set [nurses] up and then they throw them under the bus.”

Gohmert’s comments were made as two Dallas nurses are fighting for their lives, after contracting Ebola from Thomas Eric Duncan. Duncan, a Liberian man, brought the deadly disease into the U.S. He was infected with the disease, but not showing symptoms, when flew to Dallas from his home country. The newly-infected nurses helped care for Duncan before he passed away on October 8. 

Following the diagnosis of the second nurse, Frieden blamed a clear breach of safety protocol for the transmission. 

Appearing to blame the nurses for catching the deadly virus, Frieden said  in an interview with Bob Schieffer on CBS’ Face The Nation, “We know from many years of experience, that it’s possible to care for patients with Ebola safely, without risk to health care workers.”

Reacting to such comments by Frieden, Gohmert told Beck, “The same people who said if you like your health insurance and doctor, you can keep them, are telling us that Ebola  is under control. The CDC says a nurse got Ebola when the protocols were violated, but failed to create the protocols, failed to provide the protocols, and can’t say which of their non-existent protocols were violated. These CDC clowns can’t even tell us how the nurses got Ebola, so how can they possibly say that the nurses violated protocols?”

Gohmert also took issue with the federal government’s refusal to ban flights from West African countries afflicted by Ebola. 

The CDC “condemn[s] the latest nurse to get Ebola for traveling on a plane before she manifested Ebola while at the same time telling us limiting travel from countries with Ebola epidemics would not help but would actually do harm,” the congressman said. “Let’s face it; the President has his man he wants heading up the CDC who appears to be spearheading the war on women nurses. The new CDC motto:  ‘When the CDC looks incompetent, blame a female nurse.'”

Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate.