Laffer told POLITICO on Monday he had not heard from anyone at the White House about the group. And several lobbyists throughout Washington had not heard which, if any, companies would participate in the council. Some lobbyists had been urging CEOs to steer clear of joining the group, given concerns about whether its profile would be high enough for Fortune 500 executives. Other business leaders did not want to attract attention to their companies by joining the council during a national health emergency, after Trump went after 3M and General Motors by name in recent weeks.

Mnuchin said at the White House briefing on Monday that the president would additionally receive advice from over 100 business executives. Those leaders’ names were being reviewed Monday but they had not been invited yet, he said.

The president said suggestions on reopening the economy would come from a number of committees such as those representing transportation, manufacturing and faith leaders.

“We have some of the biggest from every business on this council. We‘re actually setting up a number of different councils or committees, I guess you could call them. And we have a lot of smart people. I think they will give us some good advice, but we want to be very, very safe,” Trump said. At the same briefing, Trump said he would make a decision on reopening the economy and put out new guidelines by the end of the week.

The confusion and uncertainty surrounding this second council — and now its associated committees — illustrates the White House’s challenge throughout its response to the once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic. Few officials internally are ever certain who is in charge — or taking responsibility for a particular issue even as aides work long hours to bolster the administration’s efforts.

As recently as two weeks ago, five different individuals or groups of aides were working on questions surrounding the supply chain alone .

Trump for weeks has been torn between the advice of his health officials, who have urged far greater caution given the risk of mounting deaths, and the suggestions of his economic aides, who are eager to revive the economy and stock market during a reelection year.