GOP governor thanks Biden for efforts to 'depoliticize' pandemic response

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Monday thanked President Biden for his efforts to "depoliticize" the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic as the omicron variant surges across the country.

Biden held a call with numerous governors to discuss the response to the latest COVID-19 variant, which is highly contagious and has led to a sharp increase in cases and triggered long waits for testing.

"I want to thank all of the White House team for being such great support to the governors," Hutchinson said in opening remarks on the conference call. "And I want to thank, Mr. President, [for] your address to the nation last week. Thank you for your comments designed to depoliticize our COVID response. I think that was helpful.