President Trump on Thursday declared the nation's opioid epidemic a "national emergency."
Just two days before, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said that Trump did not plan to declare the epidemic a national health emergency. "We believe that at this point, the resources that we need or the focus that we need to bring to bear to the opioid crises can be addressed without the declaration of an emergency," Price said Tuesday. He did note that the possibility of an emergency declaration was not off the table, but that Trump had "no immediate plans" to declare one, CNN reported.
On Thursday, Trump announced that he's drawing up the paperwork right now. "The opioid crisis is an emergency and I'm saying officially right now it is an emergency. It's a national emergency," Trump said.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who leads the White House's opioid commission, has been urging Trump to make the declaration, along with other public health experts.