Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
New Trump Panel to Explore Path to Reopening US Economy
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
April 14, 2020

Share

WASHINGTON — Every day, a team of public health officials turns up in the White House briefing room to lay out measures being taken to contain the coronavirus pandemic. A different team, expected to be formally announced as early as Tuesday, has begun meeting behind closed doors in the West Wing to tackle another matter paramount to President Donald Trump: how to begin reopening the American economy.

The council, which is not expected to include health officials, could bring to the forefront the push-pull tensions within the White House between economists and public health officials over how quickly to reopen the economy vs. proceeding cautiously to ensure the virus doesn’t spike again.

With the country barreling toward a likely recession ahead of November’s election, Trump is eager to spur an economic revival, hoping to steady financial markets and restore some of the 16 million jobs already lost due to the pandemic. He originally hoped to have the country stirring again by Easter but now wants at least a partial reopening by the end of the month.

Many medical experts in the government, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, have cautioned that easing up on social distancing too soon could lead a new wave of the disease that would require shuttering the economy again, with disastrous results.

As for the new council, Trump said he expected “they will give us some also good advice but no, we want to be very, very safe. At the same time we’ve got to get our country open.”

Among Those Expected to Be Part of the New Team

Some ethics experts and participants in past councils created by Trump voiced concerned that the president may not be open to using the new panel to explore diverse viewpoints and hard truths about the best path forward.

“It doesn’t work if you bring in the hallelujah chorus.” — Thea Lee, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning Washington think tank 

“It doesn’t work if you bring in the hallelujah chorus,” said Thea Lee, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning Washington think tank. Lee served on a short-lived manufacturing council that Trump established early in his presidency.

Among those expected to be part of the new team: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and White House economic advisers, past and present, Kevin Hassett and Larry Kudlow. New White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is expected to chair the effort.

Senior White House aides Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump had been expected to be part of the team, but Trump, who previously declared the group would be comprised of “the greatest minds,” said Monday they would not be included. It would work separately from the coronavirus task force led by Vice President Mike Pence, though there could be some overlap of participants.

Some outside business leaders and perhaps governors also may join the group of administration officials who already are informally meeting and holding conference calls with the president.

The new council is expected to act as an internal West Wing counterbalance to health experts who want Trump to go slow in reopening the nation. The president said Monday the new panel would seek counsel from various industries and include committees representing fields like manufacturing, transportation and religious interests.

The Expected New Group, so Far, Largely Resembles the Upper Echelon of the Trump Administration

Arthur Laffer, an economist Trump has praised, acknowledged that the economy was severely damaged but said it was difficult to tell when it should reopen.

“There’s nothing smart about doing it too early,” said Laffer.

The expected new group, so far, largely resembles the upper echelon of the Trump administration: white and wealthy. Carson is the council’s most prominent African American.

The U.S. economy is so vast that the council will need to consider the needs of workers in food services, health care, transportation, construction and other sectors in which a diverse workforce that often makes lower wages will be on the front lines of a re-opened economy.

“You do need a range of opinions and a range of experiences,” said Jay Shambaugh, an economist at George Washington University and director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. “This is one of those cases where the minority report is really important — you need people who aren’t all thinking the same thing.”

Danielle Brian, executive director of the Washington watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, said she is concerned that Trump may not be open to contrary opinions, citing his recent ouster of government inspectors general who had criticized administration actions.

The White House Said Trump’s Decision-Making Process Would Be Measured

“We’ve seen very starkly recently how, even when it comes to the sort of the fundamental questions of oversight, people are discounted or fired when they say something that he doesn’t want to hear,” said Brian.

Donald Sherman, deputy director for the oversight group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Trump’s track record of “choosing patrons and sycophants to run significant parts of his government” leaves him skeptical the council will be much more than a rubber stamp.

“The President wants to see this economy open again so people can get back to work, but scientific data will drive the timeline on those decisions because his number one priority is to protect the safety and well-being of the American people.” — deputy press secretary Judd Deere 

The White House said Trump’s decision-making process would be measured and involve consultation with the public health officials.

“The President wants to see this economy open again so people can get back to work, but scientific data will drive the timeline on those decisions because his number one priority is to protect the safety and well-being of the American people,” said deputy press secretary Judd Deere.

During his first year in office, Trump put together several high-profile advisory economic groups, which included Intel’s Brian Krzanich, Tesla’s Elon Musk and AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka. Those panels fell apart as executives resigned in protest against Trump’s response to violent, race-infused protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.

Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, served on Trump’s now-defunct manufacturing council. He said the administration used the advisory group in a “self-congratulatory” manner meant to spotlight “a bunch of CEOs talking to the president about something that was important to him.”

There were “a lot serious people on the advisory council,” Paul said, “but I didn’t see it as doing serious work.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Iran Missile Attack Kills 8 Israelis. Israel Warns Tehran Residents to Evacuate Before Strikes

DON'T MISS

Visalia Stabbing Leaves Man Hospitalized, Suspect Sought

DON'T MISS

Suspect in Shooting of Minnesota Lawmakers to Appear in Court on Murder Charges

DON'T MISS

Iran Asks Gulf States to Mediate for Ceasefire With Israel, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Climbs as Oil Prices Ease, Fed Meeting in Focus

DON'T MISS

Americans Don’t See Supreme Court as Politically Neutral, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 41 People in Gaza, Medics Say

DON'T MISS

Manhunt for Gunman Who Shot Two Minnesota Lawmakers Enters Second Day

DON'T MISS

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

UP NEXT

Here’s What to Expect at the Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade on Trump’s Birthday

UP NEXT

US House Passes Trump Cuts of $9.4 Billion for Foreign Aid, Broadcasting

UP NEXT

Tulare County Inmate Found Unresponsive in Cell, Autopsy Pending

UP NEXT

Harvey Weinstein Convicted of Sex Crime Amid Contentious Jury Deliberations

UP NEXT

Trump Warns Protests at Army Parade Will Be Met With Force

UP NEXT

Do Americans Support Trump’s Use of Marines in LA? The Numbers Might Shock You

UP NEXT

Marines Will Deploy to LA for 60 Days, Costing Taxpayers $134 Million

UP NEXT

First the National Guard, Will the Marines Be Next at LA Riots?

UP NEXT

Sights & Sounds: The 2025 Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade and Festival

UP NEXT

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

Iran Asks Gulf States to Mediate for Ceasefire With Israel, Sources Say

25 minutes ago

Wall Street Climbs as Oil Prices Ease, Fed Meeting in Focus

29 minutes ago

Americans Don’t See Supreme Court as Politically Neutral, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

37 minutes ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

21 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 41 People in Gaza, Medics Say

21 hours ago

Manhunt for Gunman Who Shot Two Minnesota Lawmakers Enters Second Day

23 hours ago

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

23 hours ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

23 hours ago

Newsom Wanted To Fast-Track the Delta Tunnel Project. The Legislature Slowed the Flow

1 day ago

Five Weeknight Dishes: Seven Ingredients or Fewer, Because Summer

1 day ago

Iran Missile Attack Kills 8 Israelis. Israel Warns Tehran Residents to Evacuate Before Strikes

TEL AVIV, Israel — Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks at Israel early Monday, killing at least eight people, while Israel warned hundr...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

Iran Missile Attack Kills 8 Israelis. Israel Warns Tehran Residents to Evacuate Before Strikes

15 minutes ago

Visalia Stabbing Leaves Man Hospitalized, Suspect Sought

Vance Luther Boelter, 57, the suspected gunman in the shooting deaths of a Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker and her husband, appears in this June 16, 2025 mugshot provided by Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via REUTERS
22 minutes ago

Suspect in Shooting of Minnesota Lawmakers to Appear in Court on Murder Charges

The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, February 3, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/ File Photo
25 minutes ago

Iran Asks Gulf States to Mediate for Ceasefire With Israel, Sources Say

A man walks past a Wall Street marking outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) building in New York City, U.S., March 11, 2025. (Reuters File)
29 minutes ago

Wall Street Climbs as Oil Prices Ease, Fed Meeting in Focus

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2024. (Reuters File)
37 minutes ago

Americans Don’t See Supreme Court as Politically Neutral, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

21 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

Mourners pray during the funeral of a Palestinian killed in what the Gaza health ministry says was Israeli fire near a distribution center in Rafah, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
21 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 41 People in Gaza, Medics Say

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend