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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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."
-
Will increasing tensions with Iran boil over into war?Today’s Big Question President Donald Trump has recently been threatening the country
-
Corruption: The spy sheikh and the presidentFeature Trump is at the center of another scandal
-
Putin’s shadow warFeature The Kremlin is waging a campaign of sabotage and subversion against Ukraine’s allies in the West
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
