President Donald Trump plans to declare a national emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, during a news conference at 3 p.m. in Washington.

The declaration will invoke the Stafford Act, opening the door to more federal aid for states and cities.

I will be having a news conference today at 3:00 P.M., The White House. Topic: CoronaVirus! March 13, 2020

Bloomberg reports: Trump is under increasing pressure to act as governors and mayors nationwide step up actions to mitigate the spread, closing schools and canceling public events. Senate Democrats have urged Trump to invoke the Stafford Act and other disaster declaration requests they say would free up more than $42 billion in funding for states available in the Disaster Relief Fund. An emergency declaration would allow a state to request a 75% federal cost-share for expenses that include emergency workers, medical tests, medical supplies, vaccinations, security for medical facilities, and more, according to a letter Democrats sent the president earlier this week.

“Better Late Than Never” is our new mantra I guess https://t.co/FCjKmwjGhz March 13, 2020

Anyone who attends this press conference is in danger of becoming infected by Trump.



Not a joke.



Watch it on TV. Don’t go. He’s not going to answer your question, anyway. Not really. https://t.co/fJ9Zbnhiw0 — David Waldman-1, of Yorktown LLC™ (@KagroX) March 13, 2020

On Feb. 28, Donald Trump said that Democrats' attacks against his administration's response to coronavirus was their "new hoax" after impeachment efforts fell flat. https://t.co/64roNRpwA3 — Jared Holt (@jaredlholt) March 13, 2020