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Donald Trump has reportedly clashed with his top scientists over greatly expanding the use of experimental drugs to tackle coronavirus as his administration lobbied Congress to pass a $1 trillion stimulus package.

The U.S. president wanted to sign an executive order that would expand testing of unproven medical therapies but was told it could pose unnecessary risks to patients, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Trump said yesterday he had not seen the reporting, which said the pushback came from senior scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but added: “We are making a lot of progress with therapeutics.”

Trump said he would hold a press conference by the end of today on issues linked to the FDA, though did not give details, saying the developments were “quite exciting”.

The alleged friction behind closed doors comes as the US administration attempts to speed up testing on treatments and vaccines for Covid-19. The first human trial of the vaccine began this week in Seattle, Washington.