“They’re ramping up, but they’re still saying it’s two weeks before we can get widespread testing,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said, adding that President Donald Trump was “not accurate” when he said all Americans who want to get tested can get one.

“People should not say, ‘If you want a test, you can get a test’ right now. That’s coming. That’s not here right now,” Lankford added. “We’ve got a long way to go to be able to get rapid, efficient testing.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate’s health committee, said after the briefing that the U.S. is “not the best equipped nation in terms of testing.”

“That’s absolutely obvious every single senator who asked a question today,” Alexander said, calling it “a serious deficiency” for the country’s health care system.

Lawmakers emerging from the briefings said the U.S. is struggling to keep up with other countries’ capacity to test people for the virus due to issues with the supply chain. According to several attendees, the health officials said the slow pace was due to low availability of cotton swabs, gloves and other protective gear that is necessary for technicians carrying out the tests.

“These things are made primarily outside of the United States,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said. “Countries that are facing outbreaks are not going to be in the business of shipping out materials that they need themselves.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said the officials were “having a very difficult time giving us the numbers that we’re going to need in terms of exactly how many tests and how quickly.”

Despite these criticisms, Trump on Thursday insisted that the U.S. has done a “good job” on testing.

“Frankly, the testing has been going very smooth,” Trump said. “If you go to the right agency, if you go to the right area, you get the test.”

When pressed during a House hearing on whether someone in the federal government is ensuring people are getting tested who need it, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told lawmakers that the U.S. health system isn’t “geared to what we need right now.”

“It is ... failing, let’s admit it,” said Fauci, one of the nation’s top health officials. “The way people in other countries are doing it, we’re not set up for that. Do I think we should be? Yes, but we’re not.”

Senators warned that the U.S. health care system could soon become overwhelmed, noting that countries such as Italy and South Korea are dealing with an influx of patients and limited medical supplies. More than 12,000 people have been infected with coronavirus in Italy, while South Korea has an estimated 7,800 cases.

About 1,200 people in the U.S. have tested positive for the virus, and that number is expected to grow in the coming days and weeks.

“It’s very frustrating that we have been so slow in getting the testing. There’s no question about that,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) added. “You can’t get wipes for your countertop. You can’t get alcohol. You can’t get masks in our country. And it’s very difficult to get tests.”

Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) said Trump administration officials left “a lot of questions that are still not being able to be answered,” particularly on the nation’s testing capacity.

“I believe the [Centers for Disease Control] struggled to give a really strong answer on being able to duplicate some of the places like South Korea,” he said.

Walker said officials indicated 2.4 million testing components had been disseminated but not necessarily put together yet. But those components would eventually be able to test about 800,000 people, he said.

Less than 10,000 Americans have been tested, according to lawmakers, while other countries have been able to complete more than that number of tests each day.

“Frankly, having testing would have given us a much better view as to how many people have the virus and what kind of social distancing actions we should be taking to prevent the spread of the virus,” Romney added.

The twin briefings on Thursday, which came after Trump announced a series of executive actions including restricting travel to and from much of Europe, left lawmakers searching for more answers about the federal government’s response to the pandemic.

“We’re just ill prepared and should have been [prepared]. That’s not a political statement, that’s just the truth. That’s what everybody in that room, I think, took away,” Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) said. “I’m horrified by the lack of leadership, I really am.”

With lawmakers scheduled to leave Washington Thursday for a one-week recess, some senators were calling for Congress to remain in session to address the economic impact from the coronavirus, which has taken a massive toll on the stock market and is expected to wreak even more havoc in the coming weeks.

“Look, this is unchartered territory. We have to balance the health and wellbeing of the people that work here with the obligation we have to take actions to help buffer the economic impact and provide resources to deal with the public health of the country,” said Rubio, who was putting the finishing touches on legislation to provide new loans to small businesses negatively affected by a lower demand among consumers.

House Democrats also introduced a multi-billion dollar coronavirus package late Wednesday night, but its passage remains in flux as lawmakers appear to be at an impasse.

Others, though, noted that both chambers passed an $8.3 billion package last week and said it was too early to consider additional economic measures.

“I’m going to be sensitive when it starts hitting blue-collar individuals in the pocket and mainstream businesses,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said. “Whether we do that now or wait to get more information — I think the next seven to 10 days are going to tell us exactly what we need to do.”

Marianne LeVine, Heather Caygle, Sarah Owermohle and Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.