Trump says coronavirus task force will actually 'continue on indefinitely'

The state of the White House's coronavirus task force just became much more confusing.

After The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the White House was looking to "wind down" the coronavirus task force, Vice President Mike Pence confirmed that this was under consideration potentially for around Memorial Day, sparking criticism that the move was premature.

But President Trump seemed to walk this back on Wednesday morning. After praising the "fantastic job" the task force has done, Trump tweeted that "because of this success, the task force will continue on indefinitely," though with a "focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN," as well as vaccines and therapeutics.

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Trump also said "we may add or subtract people" from the task force going forward. When asked on Tuesday why now would be the right time to wind down the task force, Trump simply said "because we can't keep our country closed for the next five years."

An official told Axios that the task force will "continue providing input, though the group will not be meeting in person as regularly as the focus changes toward vaccines, therapeutics, testing, and ultimately reopening the economy." The official also insisted this "does NOT mean doctors are being removed from the equation."

Reports that the coronavirus task force would be winding down appeared to come as a surprise even to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who told CBS News on Tuesday, "That's not true. I've been in every task force meeting, and that's not what they are doing." Politico also previously reported that "health officials and other aides inside the White House were not happy about the plans to dissolve the coronavirus task force."