Biden taps Ezekiel Emanuel to coronavirus task force, faces controversy

Concerns were raised that Emanuel doesn't value saving those over the age of 75, with some equating his views to eugenics.

By AARON REICH
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, professor of Health Care Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is interviewed at the Reuters Health Summit 2014 in Washington April 1, 2014. (photo credit: JIM BOURG / REUTERS)
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, professor of Health Care Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is interviewed at the Reuters Health Summit 2014 in Washington April 1, 2014.
(photo credit: JIM BOURG / REUTERS)
President-elect Joe Biden has tapped renowned oncologist and bioethicist Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel to sit on his coronavirus task force, despite his controversial views on aging, The Forward has reported.
The controversy stems from an article he wrote in the Atlantic in 2014, where he explained that he would prefer to die at the age of 75, as living past such an age “renders many of us, if not disabled, then faltering and declining, a state that may not be worse than death but is nonetheless deprived,” according to The Forward.
Members on the Right, including White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, were quick to call out Biden for tapping Emanuel to the task force, voicing concerns that he does not view people over the age of 75 as worth saving.

These concerns were also shared by those suffering disabilities, comparing Emanuel's views with eugenics, The Forward reported.
The decision to tap such a controversial figure for the post was made following reports that Biden is considering Emanuel's brother, former Obama administration White House chief of staff and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, for a position in the cabinet, which was also met with controversy, the media outlet reported.
News of his potential appointment to the cabinet was criticized by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said on Monday that this appointment would “signal… a hostile approach to the grass-roots and the progressive wing of the party,” according to The New York Times.
This controversy stems from how much the former Chicago mayor is disliked by racial justice advocates due to his handling of the police murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014, because he refused to release dashboard camera footage until a year laterafter his reelection, The Forward reported.
The sons of Jerusalem-born pediatrician Benjamin M. Emanuel, who fought as part of Menachem Begin’s Irgun in pre-state Israel, the Emanuel brothers are no strangers to controversy, with the third brother, renowned Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, having faced accusations of racism and homophobia.