Claim: Michelle Steel is running for election to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent California’s 48th congressional district, challenging current Congressman Harley Rouda. She gives herself credit for effectively guiding Orange County during the COVID-19 crisis. Rouda, however, has claimed that Steel’s management of the COVID-19 crisis was a failure, forcing small businesses to close and costing community lives.
Rating: Rouda’s claim is MOSTLY TRUE. Michelle Steel is the chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. During the first months of the COVID-19 crisis, Steel played down the severity of the pandemic, misrepresented infection numbers and questioned the efficacy of masks. By mid-July, the number of new cases per capita in Orange County had surpassed that of Los Angeles County. Currently, Orange County remains in the second most restrictive tier of California’s rating system, with many of its businesses still under restrictions.