March 13, 2020

2020-03-13T15:29:32-04:00

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President Trump, joined by members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and industry leaders, held a press conference in the Rose Garden to discuss the response to the coronavirus pandemic. The president declared the pandemic a national emergency, which he said would unlock $50 billion in funding and provide new authorities to the Health and Human Services secretary, among other measures. President Trump pledged that diagnostic testing would be increased, including drive-through testing in critical locations, but that not everybody needed to get a test. “We don’t want everybody taking this test; it’s totally unnecessary,” he said. Through other executive actions, the president said all interest would be waived on student loans held by federal government agencies, and the U.S. would be purchasing large amounts of crude oil to boost its strategic reserves. When asked about a picture that showed President Trump meeting with a Brazilian national who tested positive for the virus, the president said that he would “most likely” be tested “fairly soon” for the virus.

President Trump, joined by members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and industry leaders, held a press conference in the Rose Garden to discuss the response to the coronavirus… read more