White House readies to scrap Trump’s coronavirus task force
In the most recent sign that the Trump administration no more considers the coronavirus pandemic its top daily priority, the White House is defined to disband the emergency task force handling the outbreak.
Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday that the emergency task force he heads will never be needed much longer compared to the end of the month.
“I think we’re needs to look at the Memorial Day (May 25) window, early June window” for shutting it down, he told reporters.
The coronavirus task force has spearheaded the complex response to the fast-spreading virus, which has already killed about 70,000 Americans.
The group headed by Pence and reporting to President Donald Trump coordinates between medical institutes, political staff and state governors, a few of whom have spent weeks frantically trying to help overwhelmed hospitals.
The duty force also drew on medical professionals to formulate national recommendations on social distancing.
Pence said that those efforts will be ready to be turned to regular government agencies working “in a more traditional manner.”
That downgrading of the situation from an outright emergency complements Trump’s new focus on pushing the country to embrace reopening of the economy.
Trump says that while he wants a “safe” reopening, the hardship caused by the monetary shutdown is the primary threat.
“We can’t keep our country closed for the next five years,” he said Tuesday while on a journey to a masks-making factory in Arizona.
He conceded that some people would be “badly affected.”
Critics say that medical situation remains definately not secure and that Trump is rushing to try and raise the devastated economy with time for his difficult reelection battle in November.
White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany insisted that Trump will still be briefed by the medical teams, regardless if there is absolutely no formal crisis group.
“Reporting on the duty force is being misconstrued to recommend the White House is no more involving medical experts. This is totally false. President @realDonaldTrump will continue his data-driven approach towards safely re-opening,” she tweeted.
