Groups of states are bypassing the federal government to form their own regional economic re-opening plans

 Phil Murphy.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

President Trump assembled a team Monday whose task it is to figure how to re-open the American economy as the country continues to deal with the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.

There weren't too many surprises. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Director of the United States National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer all made the cut, as did Trump's daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. The list elicited some eye rolls from Trump critics.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.