President Trump is preparing to launch a second coronavirus task force focused on reviving the U.S. economy, which has been battered by the coronavirus, two administration officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: There is growing energy within the West Wing to start easing people back to work by May 1. But some public health officials, including those on the coronavirus task force, have warned against doing so, raising concerns about reopening America too soon.
What we're hearing: The economic task force will include people from the private sector as well as top administration officials, some of whom also serve on the coronavirus task force — though the two will be separate.
- Trump's new Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and economic adviser Larry Kudlow are all expected to be part of the new task force.
- Ivanka Trump, who has turned her attention to the administration's small business efforts, will also be part of the group, per a White House official.
- The Washington Post first reported on the task force.
Between the lines: As Axios' Jonathan Swan reported this morning, Trump's aides, encouraged by new data showing fewer deaths than previously projected, are working behind the scenes to deliver on his vow to reopen America "sooner rather than later."
- But there are "a lot of different scenarios" and "not one plan that people are rallying around,” a senior White House official told Swan.
