Ebola

Obama may appoint an Ebola overseer

Michael D. Shear
WATCH LIVE
Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images News

President Obama said Thursday evening that he might appoint an "Ebola czar" to manage the government's response to the deadly virus, a concession to critics who have questioned whether his administration has stayed on top of the medical crisis.

In extended remarks after meeting with several of his top aides working on the Ebola issue, Mr. Obama praised their work but said they were also responsible for other initiatives, including national security matters and other health care concerns.

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"It may be appropriate for me to appoint an additional person, not because they haven't been doing an outstanding job, really working hard on this issue, but they are also responsible for a whole bunch of other stuff," Mr. Obama told reporters.

He added that an Ebola czar would make sense "just to make sure that we are crossing all the 't's' and dotting all the 'i's' going forward." He declined to say when he might make such an appointment.