Today, Vice President Mike Pence led a discussion with the chief executives of approximately 50 States, territories, and the city of Washington, DC, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force to discuss local, State, and Federal Coronavirus response and recovery best practices.
Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Hokanson briefed on President Donald J. Trump's unprecedented extension of Title 32 Status for the National Guard through the end of the calendar year (December 31, 2020), demonstrating once again his ongoing support of governors and State leaders to leverage all solutions to help beat the Invisible Enemy. For the first time in our Nation's history, there is a presidential disaster declaration in every State in the Nation, and in every county in every State, showing the President's commitment to every State in the Nation.
Secretary Mnuchin provided an update on relief legislation negotiations and the important executive actions to support American families, including temporary payroll tax relief, unemployment benefits, eviction and foreclosure protections, and student loan relief. Governors expressed appreciation for the executive actions. Multiple participants expressed a hope that congressional leaders would soon redouble their efforts for a common sense, bipartisan deal.
Vice President Pence also provided an update on COVID-19 response and discussed best practices with our Nation's governors on limiting Coronavirus spread, including encouraging Americans to adhere to state and local guidelines and to wear face coverings when social distancing cannot be maintained. The Vice President discussed the Federal governments support for personnel at hospitals and PPE at nursing homes, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) guidance on encouraging schools to reopen in the Fall, and supporting States' efforts at protecting our most vulnerable citizens.
Ambassador Birx provided an updated on trends and data and discussed her upcoming travel to AR, IA, KS, MO, NE, OK, and WV.
CMS Administrator Verma provided an update on nursing home due diligence and protecting the most vulnerable.
Admiral Giroir provided an update on resourcing state testing needs, pooling best practices, and supporting testing in nursing homes and schools. The Vice President encouraged every governor to work with their hospitals to effectively leverage extra testing capacity for nursing home and schools.
Federal Participants:
- The Vice President
- Ambassador Deborah Birx, M.D., White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator
- Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Department of the Treasury
- General Daniel Hokanson, National Guard Bureau, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
- Administrator Seema Verma, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Admiral Brett Giroir, M.D. Assistant Secretary for Health, (HHS)
- Rear Admiral John Polowczyk, Joint Chiefs of Staff, DOD
- Assistant Secretary John Pallasch, U.S. Department of Labor
- Associate Administrator Dave Bibo, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Since January 2020, the Trump Administration has led over 330 briefings - including 33 governors' briefings - with over 153,000 State, local, and Tribal participants.
