President Donald Trump is preparing to announce the creation of a second coronavirus task force focused on reopening the economy, according to reports from people familiar with the matter.
The Washington Post reported that four people, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the smaller task force will focus on identifying which businesses need to rebound in order for a lot of the country to be reopened by April 30, the date that the White House’s current social distancing guidelines expire.
Top administration officials including chief of staff Mark Meadows, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and national economic adviser Larry Kudlow will reportedly be part of the new task force.
Officials from the private sector are also reported to be part of the new team.
Unlike the large coronavirus task force led by Vice President Mike Pence, this group would not meet every day. It will most likely hold most of its meetings over the phone and give in-person briefings to the president, according to The Post.
Two senior administration officials told The Post that Meadows will most likely lead the task force, but a decision has not been made yet.
The announcement could come this week, but officials said there were plans to announce the second task force earlier this week that were delayed.
Trump first hinted at the creation of the new task force in a Saturday morning tweet.
In his tweet, he said Fox News anchor Dana Perino’s idea of creating a second task force to reopen the economy was a “good idea.”
