A key member of President Donald Trump's new advisory committee on reopening the economy is signaling that the administration should stay focused on fighting the coronavirus and keeping Americans financially stable rather than immediately getting people back to business as usual.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told reporters Wednesday that in the "war" against the virus "you have to work hardest to protect the people who are fighting the war for you" — medical professionals and first responders. Second, he said, there is a need to provide financial protection to people who lost jobs because of the nationwide shutdown, via unemployment benefits, stimulus payments and small-business assistance.


"We're trying to give them the advice, the more you can keep people stabilized in their ability to meet their obligations and keep their family fed and housed and things like that, that is what you should be focused on until you can reopen the economy," he said on a call to discuss the bank's latest earnings report.