Trump deploys National Guard to 3 states hit hard by coronavirus

(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

published 23 March 2020

President Trump announced on Sunday the federal government is sending National Guard units to New York, California, and Washington — three states that have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the government will be funding "100 percent of the cost of deploying National Guard units to carry out approved missions to stop the virus while those governors remain in command," he said. Trump added that he spoke with the three governors, and "they're very happy with what we're going to be doing."

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With shortages of personal protective equipment like masks reported in hospitals and clinics across the United States, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Sunday said he believes "the federal government should order factories to manufacture masks, gowns, ventilators, the essential medical equipment that is going to make the difference between life and death." There are at least 32,149 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, and 410 deaths.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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