Trump Declares National Emergency to Combat Coronavirus

Article originally posted on Yahoo! by Ledyard King, John Fritze & Courtney Subramanian

President Donald Trump said there is no deal yet on an emergency package to respond to the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic and accused Democrats of reneging on negotiations.

“We just don’t think they’re giving enough,” he said, but did not give specifics. “We thought we had something. All of a sudden, they didn’t agree to certain things they agreed to … They’re not doing what’s right for the country.”

Trump’s remarks in the Rose Garden Friday afternoon came about an hour after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, announced the House would move forward with a vote Friday on a sweeping package to confront the coronavirus.

The bill would include free testing for all Americans, including those uninsured, as well as two weeks of paid sick leave who have to skip work due to the virus. It would also included expanded food assistance, such as seniors’ meals, student lunches and food banks.

Pelosi has spoken numerous times with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in an effort to reach a deal. One of the sticking points has been on the paid sick leave provisions.

Drew Hamill, Pelosi's spokesman, tweeted that the House speaker and Mnuchin had their latest conversation during the news conference.

– Ledyard King

Stocks welcome Trump's emergency declaration

Stocks recovered Friday following a brutal week of selling after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to free up about $50 billion in federal aid to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus. The Dow Jones industrial average finished the day up 1,985 points, or 9.4%, a day after plunging 2,352 points, for its worst loss since its nearly 23% drop on Oct. 19, 1987.

– David Brinkerhoff

Trump shakes hands with executives 

President Donald Trump shook hands with an array of company executive who were invited to join him at his Rose Garden news conference to discuss the coronavirus response – despite repeated advice from his own public health experts against such contact.

Only one company official, Bruce Greenstein of the home healthcare provider LHC Group, moved his hand away from Trump’s outstretched hand and offered an elbow instead.

“I like that. That's good," Trump said a bit awkwardly after elbow-bumping Greenstein.
Trump himself may have been exposed to the virus; he had contact with Fabio Wajngarten, the communications secretary for Brazil's president, who has tested positive for coronavirus.
Wajngarten was in Florida last weekend at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, and he posted a photo of himself standing next to the American leader. 

Trump has said publicly that he's "not concerned" about the potential exposure, and the White House has said there's no reason for him to be tested.

"I don't have any of the symptoms," Trump said.

– Deirdre Shesgreen

Azar given broad authority to waive hospital regulations

President Donald Trump said the emergency declaration would give broad authority for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to waive provisions of laws and regulations to give doctors and hospital "maximum flexibility to respond to the virus."
Under the declaration, Azar can:

• Waive laws to enable telehealth services 
• Allow remote doctor visits and hospital check-ins
• Waive certain federal licensing requirements so doctors from other states can provide services 
• Waive requirements limiting hospitals to 25 beds or a stay of 96 hours 
• Allowing hospitals to bring additional physicians on board and obtain additional office space
• Waive rules that restrict hospital care of patients within the hospital itself 

-- Courtney Subramanian

Trump: 'This will pass'

President Donald Trump, whose administration has been criticized heavily over a shortage of tests for coronavirus, promised to increase the number of tests but said administering them to everyone was not necessary.

 "Our overriding goal is to stop the spread of the virus and to help all Americans who have been impacted by this," Trump said. "Again, we don't want everybody taking this test. It's totally unnecessary. And this will pass. This will pass through and we're going to be stronger for it."

– Courtney Subramanian

Trump’s emergency declaration will come with more than just money

The most significant element of President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration will be federal disaster aid. Trump said up to $50 billion would be made available. Democrats and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had earlier estimated the number to be closer to $40 billion.
But it’s not just money. Trump said his order would waive several key regulations. Among them:

• The order would waive rules so that telehealth can be more easily accessed, providing care in ways that will not require patients to come into a doctor’s office.
• The order would waive rules limiting the number of beds and length of stays in hospitals.
• The the order would waive rules about which parts of a hospital can treat patients, a move designed to deal with capacity and space if a large number of patients show up seeking care.

– John Fritze

Trump announces drive-through testing

President Donald Trump announced plans to partner with pharmaceutical and retail companies to set up drive-through test sites for coronavirus in an effort to catch up to a nationwide demand and deliver on the administration's promise for wider access to testing.
He met with company executives Friday to discuss expanding access to testing through drive-through testing.

"The goal is for individuals to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car," he said in a Rose Garden news conference.

By allowing people to remain in their car, health officials say it limits the chance for exposure. Trump said the administration is working with Google to create a web portal to direct people to those locations.

The administration has faced mounting pressure from lawmakers to increase testing access as the coronavirus pandemic continues to intensify, prompting travel restrictions, school closures, suspension of professional sports leagues and market turmoil. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, admitted to lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday that limited access to testing was "a failing."

New Rochelle, a New York City suburb, became the first on the East Coast to open a drive-through testing facility Friday after it was designated a coronavirus containment zone following a recent outbreak.

– Courtney Subramanian

Trump announces emergency declaration

 President Donald Trump declared a national emergency Friday to free up billions of dollars to combat the coronavirus as he sought to persuade anxious Americans and battered financial markets that he was responding forcefully to the crisis.

"I am officially declaring a national emergency. Two very big words," Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden. As the outbreak has shuttered schools, sporting events and even Broadway, Trump has come under intense criticism for his handling of the pandemic, including an Oval Office address he delivered Wednesday that was marred by factual errors. Medical experts say there’s an acute shortage of coronavirus testing kits, the number of infections has soared and Wall Street suffered its worst day Thursday since the financial crash of 1987.

”The action I’m taking will open access up to $50 billion for states in our shared fight against his disease,” Trump said, adding that he was ordering every state to open emergency operation centers.
"This will pass," Trump said of the outbreak. "We’ll be even stronger for it We’ve learned a lot.”

The emergency declaration comes as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been negotiating with Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill on legislation to stem the economic fallout from the coronavirus. About an hour before the president delivered his remarks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House would move forward with a vote Friday on a sweeping package to confront the coronavirus.

The bill would include free testing for all Americans, including those uninsured, as well as two weeks of paid sick leave who have to skip work due to the virus. It would also include expanded food assistance, such as seniors’ meals, student lunches and food banks.

– John Fritze, Ledyard King and Nicholas Wu

Pelosi: House to vote on relief package

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would move forward with a vote Friday on a sweeping package to confront the coronavirus.

The bill would include free virus testing for all Americans, including the uninsured, as well as two weeks of paid sick leave for those who have to skip work due to the virus. It would also included expanded federal food assistance, such as seniors’ meals, student lunches and food banks.

"The three most important parts of this bill are: testing, testing, testing,” she said in her televised remarks at the U.S. Capitol.

Pelosi has been in constant communication with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who is leading negotiations for the Trump administration.

Her remarks came amid reports that President Donald Trump is expected to declare a national emergency Friday over the coronavirus outbreak, a move that would enable federal officials to direct billions of dollars in federal disaster money to responders fighting the virus.

The pandemic has killed dozens in the U.S., canceled major sporting events, limited commercial travel, roiled stock markets and transformed everyday life around the globe.

– Ledyard King and Nicholas Wu

Trump to declare national emergency

President Donald Trump is expected to declare a national emergency Friday over the coronavirus outbreak, a move that would enable federal officials to direct billions of dollars in disaster money to responders fighting the virus, according to a senior administration official.

The declaration would be among a series of steps the administration is taking to try to boost the confidence of the American public and the financial markets in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump, who is scheduled to hold a news conference at 3 p.m. EDT, has been heavily criticized for the administration's response, including problems rolling out test kits for the virus and an Oval Office speech he delivered Wednesday that exacerbated huge losses on Wall Street. Investors were shaken by misstatements in the speech and what many saw as the lack of a broader strategy to address the crisis.

At the 3 p.m. news conference, Trump is also expected to weigh in on a relief package negotiated between Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would provide paid sick leave to workers, among other steps to blunt the impact on the economy of virus-related disruptions.

The national emergency is expected to be declared under the 1988 Stafford Act, which authorizes federal assistance to local governments, usually for natural disasters. The Stafford Act is one several laws in a president's extensive emergency powers toolkit. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency over the virus in late January. That step made it easier for states to redirect staff responding to the virus.

The nation's Disaster Relief Fund has a balance of about $42 billion, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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