President Donald Trump announced Wednesday the White House coronavirus task force would refocus its efforts on ensuring Americans’ safety and facilitating a national economic reopening — while also studying vaccines and treatments under a potentially changed membership structure.
In a series of tweets, Trump wrote that the task force, under the leadership of Vice President Mike Pence, “has done a fantastic job of bringing together vast highly complex resources that have set a high standard for others to follow in the future.”
The president went on to tout the team’s achievements in bolstering the production of ventilators, expanding testing capabilities and acquiring personal protective equipment for frontline health care workers. He also reported that the administration’s recent teleconference calls with the nation’s governors “have been conclusively strong.”
“Because of this success, the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN,” Trump wrote. “We may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate. The Task Force will also be very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics. Thank you!”
The president’s social media posts, which came after media reports that the White House was considering winding down the task force, outline a new direction for the ad hoc group of high-ranking administration officials previously charged with fighting the disease’s rapid spread across the United States.
Trump’s tweets also clarify comments he made Tuesday during a trip to Arizona regarding the future role of the task force, which he had said would be replaced by advisory groups of a “different form.”
“That form is safety and opening,” Trump told reporters. “We will have a different group probably set up.”
Pence also previewed changes to the task force Tuesday, revealing that the work of mitigating the ongoing outbreak would ultimately be shifted to agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We’re having a conversation about that and about what the proper time is for the task force to complete its work,” he told reporters at a briefing. “We’ve already begun to talk about a transition plan with FEMA.”
