President Donald Trump's administration is considering invoking special powers through a law called the Defense Production Act to rapidly expand domestic manufacturing of protective masks and clothing to combat the coronavirus in the United States, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The use of the law, passed by Congress in 1950 at the outset of the Korean War, would mark an escalation of the administration's response to the outbreak. The virus first surfaced in China and has since spread to other countries including the United States. U.S. health officials have told Americans to begin preparing for the spread of the virus in the United States. The law grants the president the power to expand industrial production of key materials or products for national security and other reasons. The biggest producers of face masks in the United States include 3M Corp and Honeywell International Inc.

US President Donald Trump, flanked (from L-R) by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, US Vice President Mike Pence and CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, holds a news conference with members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) on the COVID-19 outbreak at the White House on February 26, 2020. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

Trump, a Republican seeking re-election on Nov. 3, has faced criticism from Democrats over his administration's response to the outbreak. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told lawmakers this week that the United States needs a stockpile of about 300 million N95 face masks — respiratory protective devices — for medical workers to combat the spread of the virus. The United States currently has only a fraction of that number available for immediate use, Azar testified. During an interagency call on Wednesday, officials from HHS and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) discussed the possibility of invoking the Defense Production Act for the manufacture of "personal protective equipment" that can be worn to prevent infection, according to a DHS official. Such equipment can include masks, gloves and body suits. Azar said at a congressional hearing on Wednesday that China controls "a lot of the raw materials as well as the manufacturing capacity" related to face masks. "Very little of this stuff is apparently made in the (United) States, so if we're down to domestic capability to produce, it could get tough," the DHS official told Reuters. A White House official confirmed that the administration was exploring the use of the law to spur manufacturing of protective gear. Both the DHS official and the White House requested anonymity to discuss the issue. "Let's say 'Company A' makes a multitude of respiratory masks but they spend 80% of their assembly lines on masks that painters wear and only 20% on the N95," the White House official said. "We will have the ability to tell corporations, 'No, you change your production line so it is now 80% of the N95 masks and 20% of the other.'" "It allows you to basically direct things happening that need to get done," the official added. HHS declined to comment. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'Very low'