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If you were hoping for a quiet Christmas weekend with little or no major political news, well, then you clearly have forgotten who we elected to the White House. Over the weekend, President Trump has signed a new executive order explicitly declaring a national “state of emergency.” At stake is putting an end to human.
The emergency declaration will free up as much as $50 billion in financial resources to efforts by states and U.S. Territories to assist Americans affected by the outbreak.But Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned, 'There will be many more cases' of coronavirus in coming weeks.As of Friday, the number of positive tests for people in the United States with coronavirus had reached 2,006, according to NBC News. At least 42 people in the country have died after contracting the virus., where he was joined by Vice President, who is leading the administration's coronavirus task force.Also with president were members of that task force and the CEOs of and, who met with Trump earlier in the day. 'To unleash the full power of the federal government.
I am officially declaring a national emergency,' Trump said. 'Two very big words.'
'The next eight weeks are critical,' the president said.Officials set up by that people can fill out to determine if they have symptoms or risk factors that warrant them getting a test for coronavirus.If they should be tested, under the website's criteria, they will be directed to 'drive-thru' sites, so so that people can stay in their cars when they are screened for the virus, according to officials. Trump said Google has 1,700 engineers working on the effort now.But Trump and his officials appear to have overstated the current state of the tool, which is being developed by Verily, the life sciences sister company to Google. Both are companies., 'We are developing a tool to help triage individuals for Covid-19 testing.' 'Verily is in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time,' the statement said.Trump said he expected the U.S. To have 1.4 million coronavirus test kits available within a week, and a total of 5 million kits within the next month. He then said he doubted the country will 'need anywhere near' 5 million kits.Trump was asked by a reporter if he took responsbility for what Fauci earlier in the week called 'a failing,' in reference to the lag so far in testing Americans.The president replied, 'No, I don't take responsibility at all.'
'Because we were given a. Set of circumstances, and we were given rules, regulations and specifications from a different time,' Trump said. 'It wasn't meant for this kind of an event with the kind of numbers that we're talking about.' Trump said he had ordered all states to set up emergency operation centers, and urged hospitals to engage emergency operation plans. But, Trump said, 'we don't want people to take a test if we feel that they shouldn't be doing it, and we don't want everyone running out and taking. Only if you have certain symptoms.' But Fauci only two days ago had publicly commented on negative impact from the dissolution of the group.'
We worked very well with that office. It would be nice if it were still there,' Fauci saidIn 2018, Trump fired Tom Bossert as the NSC's homeland security adviser, whose responsibilities included coordinating the response to global pandemics.
Bossert was not replaced.As Trump ended the press conference, which lasted more than an hour, he walked away without answering as a reporter asked if he could explain whyThe Senate's top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, said, 'I'm pleased the president heeded our calls to invoke the Stafford Act to extend vital financial assistance to help keep communities safe from the coronavirus outbreak.' 'I urge New York and other states to immediately request these newly available funds and for the Trump administration to approve these requests without delay,' Schumer said.' 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.'
Trump's emergency designation allows for two types of presidential declarations. The first is an emergency, which Trump declared.The second is a major disaster, which gives emergency management even more access to resources.Both designations place FEMA in charge of what happens.French President said earlier Friday that he, Trump and the rest of leaders of the Group of 7 economic giant nations have 'agreed to organize an extraordinary Leaders Summit by videoconference on Monday on Covid-19.' 'We will coordinate research efforts on a vaccine and treatments, and work on an economic and financial response,' Macron announced in a tweet.The announcement of a U.S. National emergency came just a day after Trump said he was not yet ready to make such a declaration.'
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We have very strong emergency powers under the Stafford Act, and we are — we have it — I mean, I have it memorized, practically, as to the powers in that act. If I need to do something, I'll do it,' Trump had said in an Oval Office meeting on Thursday with Ireland's prime minister, Leo Varadkar.'
'The president is absolutely committed that this will be an entire government effort, that we will be working with the House and Senate.' But during the press conference,as of early Friday evening.As of Friday, there were more than 135,000 known cases of coronavirus globally, including nearly 5,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.In the United States, there have been at least 1,700 known cases, with at least 40 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.Correction: An earlier version misstated when the mayor declared an emergency in New York City. It was Thursday.— Additional reporting.
There’s no deadline for a decision, but one of the people familiar with the talks said Trump's aides will not give the president a final verdict until Jared Kushner, the president’s senior adviser and son-in-law, talks to relevant parties and presents his findings to the president.The administration is “not comfortable with the optics of national emergency” because of how it might impact Wall Street, tourism and air travel, a former Department of Homeland Security official said.“That’s a big deal to Wall Street, a big deal worldwide,” the former official said. “It would instill fear in the general public.”The White House did not respond to a request for comment.Trump has spent weeks trying to reassure the public about the outbreak, while the stock market shows daily declines not seen since the 2008 recession.“We’re prepared and we’re doing a great job with it,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “And it will go away. Just stay calm.
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It will go away.”To try to offset these losses — and a broader economic recession — Trump on Monday said he would propose a stimulus package that could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars. He is negotiating with Congress as House Democrats with their own bill.Trump is especially sensitive to variations in the stock market, seeing it as a key talking point in his reelection campaign.“Everything is about the election now,” said a former Trump adviser. “The economy is strong underneath but the market is the superficial barometer people watch. And if it’s all over the place, people lose confidence.”Across the U.S., the coronavirus has now killed more than 30 people and health officials have warned that the situation will worsen.HHS has taken the lead on the coronavirus response, making an agency-specific emergency declaration to unlock resources. The department declared a in late January, allowing federal officials to tap money and other resources.But that measure was limited in scope compared to a presidential declaration, which could either be nation-wide or just for states that have seen the biggest coronavirus outbreaks. Such a declaration, made under the Stafford Act, would allow federal officials to help with numerous virus-related issues — transportation, shelters, mobile hospitals, public safety. Brock Long, a former FEMA administrator under Trump and executive chairman of Hagerty Consulting, said it’s too early to declare an emergency.
Such a move, he said, could confuse Americans.To this point, leaders from HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been the ever-present faces on television, telling Americans how to act.
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