In early 2017, Trump created a commission made up of experts to study the epidemic and offer advice to combat it. By the end of the year, they had come out with 56 recommendations, many of which the President ignored. One of their recommendations was to declare the crisis a national emergency in order to devote to it the funds and attention it deserves. Trump declined, opting rather to call it a “national public health emergency,” which resulted in essentially no new funding being provided.