(White House senior adviser Jared Kushner (AP/Evan Vucci)
Trump resisted declaring a national emergency until Kushner “finishe[d] his research and [came] to a conclusion himself,” Politico reported.
By Aaron Sull, World Israel News
Jared Kushner, the architect of the Mideast “Deal of the Century”, is playing a leading role in the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, reports Politico.
According to the report, President Donald Trump held off declaring a national emergency until Kushner “finishe[d] his research and [came] to a conclusion himself.”
The Politico report also noted that Trump feared that calling a national emergency would undermine his past messages communicating that the coronavirus is not a major threat to the country.
An unnamed administration official told The Jerusalem Post that Mideast peace envoy Avi Berkowitz and the rest of Kushner’s peace team is focusing its attention on the coronavirus threat.
“As Jared has gotten more involved in the coronavirus issue, it should not come as a surprise that Avi has as well,” the administration official told the Post. “The entire team is focused on the coronavirus response and protecting the health of the American people. This is the priority.”
On Friday, Trump declared a national emergency and promised to free up to $50 billion in government funding to speed up coronavirus testing and care.
“To unleash the full power of the federal government under this effort today, I’m officially declaring a national emergency,” Trump said in a statement in the Rose Garden. “Two very big words.”
According to the president, under his plan he expects 1.4 million coronavirus testing sites to be available next week and at least 5 million within a month.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged on Sunday postponement of all public gatherings of 50 people or more for at least the next eight weeks.
“This recommendation is made in an attempt to reduce the introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus,” the CDC said in a statement.
However, the CDC recommendation does not apply to “schools, institutes of higher learning, or businesses.”
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