VP Pence simply wasn't and isn't up to this huge, very critical task. He stayed with CDC alone for mask production and distribution, when CDC isn't capable of providing anywhere near the quantity of masks required, not to mention the fact that the initial CDC masks were defective. VP Pence stuck with the CDC process that provided masks only through each respective state, and required several days to accomplish, and a very invasive, unpleasant process in obtaining samples. VP Pence continually deflected and dodged when asked at the daily briefings when sufficient tests and masks would be available, which made both him and Trump look bad.
Meanwhile, our brave and patriotic medical personnel have been and are being asked to make do with inadequate PPE and other supplies.
If Cook has a conflict with Pence, don't hire Cook. There are plenty of other top business managers who would do a far better job than VP Pence.
Trump has more than enough talent for this job, but his responsibilities are far broader than this task, so he was right to delegate the job of running full time the task force. Incidentally, I've supported Trump for President since the start of his campaign, and still support him for the terrific job he's done, with the exception of this matter.
Correction to my last post: my references to the initial botched production and distribution should have referred to test kits, not to masks.