Trump declares national emergency over coronavirus

Trump declares national emergency over coronavirus

Trump said the move would free up $50 billion in additional funding and waive requirements to speed up coronavirus testing and care.

By ANITA KUMAR AND DOUG PALMER 3/13/20, 7:15 PM CET Updated 3/14/20, 7:17 AM CET

https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-to-declare-an-emergency-in-latest-bid-to-combat-coronavirus/

U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Friday that he vowed would swiftly scale up the country’s lagging ability to test coronavirus patients.

Trump said the move will free up $50 billion for states and allow the federal government to waive certain regulations to more quickly test and care for patients. He also trumpeted private sector partnerships that he claimed would lead to drive-thru testing sites across the country.

“To unleash the full power of the federal government under this effort today, I'm officially declaring a national emergency,” he said. “Two very big words.”

Trump insisted the move would eradicate the testing shortages that health experts say hindered the country’s ability to contain the virus when it first appeared on American shores. In recent days, Trump’s health officials have warned Americans to expect the situation to worsen, spurring much of the country’s public spaces to shutter — professional sports have been suspended, concert halls are closed until further notice and many Americans have been asked to self-isolate.

Yet even as Trump unleashed billions in government funding, the announcement had a distinct market-first flavor. Trump outlined a series of agreements with private companies, including Google, Target and Walmart, to facilitate swifter coronavirus testing for Americans. Target and Walmart said they will set aside parking lot space for testing sites, while Google pledged to set up a website to determine whether a person needs a test, and where one is available.

Trump's executive actions on Friday received a positive response on Wall Street and even among Democrats.

“Very soon, Americans will be able to go to these drive-in sites,” said Vice President Mike Pence, who Trump put in charge of the administration’s coronavirus task force.

Trump said he expected 1.4 additional tests to be available next week and five million within a month — even as he cautioned against everyone rushing to get tested.

“We don’t want everybody taking this test,” he said. “It’s totally unnecessary.”

Trump has faced condemnation over the administration's failure to provide adequate testing and resources for the coronavirus, which has killed more than 5,000 people worldwide and infected tens of thousands. Health specialists have also reprimanded Trump for repeatedly downplaying what has now been deemed a global pandemic.

“I don’t take responsibility at all,” Trump said of the government’s struggles to produce enough tests, blaming existing rules set by prior administration for limiting his options.

Trump said the federal government will waive interest on federal student loans and would purchase additional crude oil for the nation’s reserves.

Still, Trump's executive actions on Friday received a positive response on Wall Street and even among Democrats.

A faltering stock market swiftly rebounded as Trump was speaking, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring nearly 2,000 points, or more than 9 percent, the largest percentage gain since the 2008 crisis. The comeback reversed nearly all of Thursday’s tumble, which was the worst since the 1987 market crash.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y,), who had urged Trump to act more forcefully, offered rare praise for the president but warned him not to go too far.

“As other steps are considered, the president must not overstep his authority or indulge his autocratic tendencies for purposes not truly related to this public health crisis,” he said in a statement.

In addition to his executive actions, Trump has pressed Congress for an economic stimulus package that could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars. While both parties are open to the idea, they have not been able to come to terms on the specifics. Trump officials are currently negotiating with Democrats over their favored proposal. Trump said Friday that he does not yet support the latest version of the bill.

“We just don't think they're giving enough,” he said. “We don't think the Democrats are giving enough.”

Friday's national emergency declaration was considerably different than one the White House earlier this week had signaled was being prepared. A White House aide involved in the coronavirus response told POLITICO on Wednesday that Trump would sign a limited emergency declaration that only addressed the faltering economy by unleashing billions of dollars for loans to small businesses and to cover missed paychecks for hourly workers.

But Democrats and many health care industry leaders were pressuring Trump to declare a more expansive emergency to help hard-hit states build mobile hospitals and shelters, while assisting with public safety and other issues. They wanted Trump to invoke the Stafford Act, which activates the Federal Emergency Management Agency and unlocks the agency's $40 billion disaster relief fund.

Trump did not invoke the Stafford Act or mention FEMA during Friday's press conference, though, even as lawmakers and others said he did declare the emergency under that law.

The president said he his order would increase the powers of the Department of Health and Human Services, the lead agency thus far in the administration's coronavirus response. Under Friday's order, HHS will be able to waive certain Medicare, Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements in an effort to bypass time-consuming regulations.

Separately, Trump said the federal government will waive interest on federal student loans and would purchase additional crude oil for the nation’s reserves.

“This will pass,” he said. “This will pass through. We're going to be even stronger for it. We learned a lot, tremendous amount has been learned.”

Previously, Trump had been reluctant to declare a more sweeping national emergency, fearful of stoking panic with such a dramatic step. But his thinking evolved as the American coronavirus caseload soared past 1,600 this week, with public health officials warning the country to expect a spike in the coming days.

For weeks, Trump has tried to reassure Americans that the widening outbreak is under control. But the situation has escalated in recent days.

The stock market has dropped in record numbers not seen since the 2008 recession, and much of the country — from Disney World to professional sports leagues, museums and concert halls — has shut down. Across the U.S., the coronavirus has now killed more than 40 people and health officials have warned that the situation will worsen.

Trump made another attempt to calm Wall Street during a brief prime-time Oval Office address on Wednesday. But he instead caused more confusion when he misrepresented the contours of a 30-day ban on foreign visitors from Europe and misstated that insurance companies would pay for people’s coronavirus treatment.