Progressives on Saturday denounced an “infuriating” report that detailed the Department of Health and Human Services’ refusal to take an American company up on its offer to supply millions of N95 respirators to the government early on in the coronavirus pandemic.

TheWashington Post reported that federal scientist Rick Bright, who filed a whistleblower complaint last week over his demotion following his criticism of the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic, detailed communications with Prestige Ameritech in January in which HHS ignored the medical supply company’s offer to produce masks.

The head of the Fort Worth-based company, Michael Bowen, wrote to HHS on Jan. 23, two days after the U.S. confirmed its first case of COVID-19. 

Bowen offered to use four dormant production lines to produce as many as seven million N95 masks per month, but was told by Laura Wolf, director of the Division of Critical Infrastructure Protection at HHS, “I don’t believe we as a government are anywhere near answering those questions for you yet.”

“We are the last major domestic mask company,” replied Bowen, who at the time was fulfilling orders for masks from all over the world. […]