WASHINGTON -- As he encouraged the country to "reopen," President Donald Trump on Monday confronted cases of the coronavirus in the White House itself, spotlighting the challenge he faces in instilling confidence in a nation still reeling from the pandemic.
Trump addressed a Rose Garden audience filled with mask-wearing administration officials, some appearing publicly with face coverings for the first time during the pandemic, after two aides tested positive for covid-19 last week.
Trump, not wearing a mask, sought to emphasize to the American people the steps being taken to ensure their safety -- in hopes that will coax them to resume normal activities.
A shortage of coronavirus testing has long been a point of contention for the president, and he insisted anew that everyone who wants a test can get one. The pledge, first issued by Trump more than two months ago, comes as governors across the country continue to call on the federal government to do more to boost supply to meet the requirements needed to begin "reopening" the nation.
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The administration said it will distribute $11 billion to states to facilitate testing -- from money already approved by Congress for coronavirus relief through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act -- and Trump claimed that "we have met the moment, and we have prevailed."
He said the United States should pass 10 million completed tests this week, "nearly double the number of any other country."
Officials outlined the plan in front of huge banners that proclaimed "America leads the world in testing." Trump said that with the federal help, each state would be able to test more people per capita in May than South Korea has tested in four months. South Korea is often held up as a model for how to deploy tests and use the results to slow the spread of the virus.
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The upbeat message was undercut by the new protective measures implemented to keep Trump safe, evidenced by the absence of Vice President Mike Pence and three of the nation's top medical experts, who were in various states of isolation after two cases of covid-19 were confirmed among White House staffers.
A memo to staff members Monday directed "everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or facial covering." Staffers will be allowed to remove their face coverings if they sit at least 6 feet apart from their colleagues.
Monday's briefing was meant to highlight the availability of covid-19 testing as the White House seeks to convince Americans the country is safely reopening.
"They should all be able to get a test right now," Trump said, even though experts say there is no capacity for testing on that scale. Officials later clarified that "everybody who needs a test can get a test."
NURSING HOME TESTING
On a call with governors Monday, Pence and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coordinator for the virus response, recommended that every nursing home occupant and staffer be tested for covid-19 in the next two weeks, with vigilant monitoring going forward, especially of staff members.
Pence, who leads the White House Coronavirus Task Force, told governors that it's the federal government's strong recommendation that such testing be done.
"We really believe that all 1 million nursing home residents need to be tested within next two weeks as well as the staff," added Birx, according to a recording of the call obtained by The Associated Press.
Trump has repeatedly said there have been plenty of testing kits, and he has shifted blame to governors for reacting too slowly on testing. He repeated that allegation at Monday's Rose Garden news conference.
"Frankly, some of the governors were very lax with respect to nursing homes. It was obvious right from the beginning," Trump said, referring to the Washington state outbreak.
Asked why testing was recommended, not ordered, Trump said: "I would certainly consider that. I will mandate it if you'd like."
More than 27,000 residents and staff members have died from outbreaks of the virus at the nation's nursing homes and long-term care facilities, according to an AP tally based on state health departments and media reports. That is about a third of all 80,000 deaths in the U.S. that have been attributed to the virus.
Nursing home operators have said the lack of testing kits has left them nearly powerless to stop the virus from entering their facilities because they haven't been able to identify silent spreaders not showing symptoms.
Pence led the weekly call with governors from an isolated room, after his press secretary tested positive Friday. Birx and other staffers participated as usual from a conference area in the Situation Room, Pence said, explaining the "slightly different circumstance."
"We are taking the appropriate countermeasures to protect the president's health," Pence added, according to the recording obtained by the AP. The White House was moving to daily testing of some staff members to detect the disease.
The stepped-up protective measures come as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn, were all quarantining after exposure to the White House staffer.
The three experts are scheduled to testify before a Senate panel today on "Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School." However, they, along with committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., will all participate remotely. Alexander is quarantining after a staff member of his own tested positive for covid-19.
The images of top administration officials taking such precautions come as states seek to loosen economic restrictions put in place to mitigate the virus's spread.
STATES SEEK AID
Governors and legislative leaders from California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington in a letter Monday asked leaders of both parties in the U.S. House and Senate to send $1 trillion to state and local governments across the U.S. in the next federal aid package.
The officials said $1 trillion in direct, flexible payments to state and local governments will not make up for the big hits their budgets are expected to take, but that "it will make a meaningful difference" in their ability to keep services running. Marie Waldron, the State Assembly minority leader in California, was the lone Republican to sign the letter.
It's not yet clear what another congressional aid package might look like or what type of proposal could gather bipartisan support.
Trump on Monday complained that Democratic governors were too slow in lifting restrictions in their states.
"The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails," he tweeted. "The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes. They would wait until November 3rd if it were up to them. Don't play politics. Be safe, move quickly!"
Trump was scheduled to travel to Pennsylvania on Thursday, according to advisories from the Federal Aviation Administration. One Pennsylvania Republican source told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the president was expected to visit Allentown, possibly to stop at a mask manufacturer there.
White House officials had pressed to hold an event at a mask factory in Marcus Hook, Pa., initially scheduled for last Friday. But after extensive back and forth, factory officials ultimately asked to postpone, worried that a visit from Trump could jeopardize both the safety of the workers and the plant's ability to produce special material for masks and other medical gear, according to two people familiar with the decision and documents reviewed by The Washington Post.
The White House's efforts to set up an event at the Pennsylvania factory came as Trump and Pence have made a number of public appearances in recent weeks to showcase the administration's work combating the virus -- gatherings that health experts say have created heightened health risks for both them and those around them.
Decisions about how fast to reopen are being made with the general election less than six months away and with the U.S. facing public health and economic crises.
"If we do this carefully, working with the governors, I don't think there's a considerable risk," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday about efforts to reopen. "Matter of fact, I think there's a considerable risk of not reopening. You're talking about what would be permanent economic damage to the American public."
Mnuchin was one of several economic advisers the White House dispatched on Sunday to place the focus on the merits of loosening restrictions on the economy. Yet attention on the possible risks of infection also turned to how the virus even found its way into the White House.
Fauci's institute said he was "taking appropriate precautions" to mitigate the risk to others while still carrying out his duties, teleworking from home but willing to go to the White House if called. Officials said both Redfield and Hahn will be self-quarantining for two weeks.
Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus in the past week. A military service member who acts as a valet to the president tested positive on Thursday.
The announced precautions contrast with a president who has declined to wear a face covering in meetings at the White House or at his public events.
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Kevin Hassett, an adviser to Trump and the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, acknowledged Sunday that it's "scary to go to work" in the White House, calling the West Wing a "small, crowded place. It's, you know, a little bit risky."
Hassett said he wears a mask when necessary and practices "aggressive social distancing." Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, he said any fears are tempered by frequent testing, access to an excellent medical team and his belief that this is a time "when people have to step up and serve their country."
Information for this article was contributed by Zeke Miller, Kevin Freking, Bernard Condon, Michelle L. Price, Alan Suderman, Candice Choi, Randy Herschaft, Darlene Superville and Andrew Welsh-Huggins of The Associated Press; by Carol D. Leonnig, Anne Gearan, Brady Dennis, Philip Rucker, John Wagner, Alice Crites, Josh Dawsey, Ashley Parker, Chris Mooney, Lateshia Beachum, Marisa Iati, Anna Fifield, Pamela Rolfe and Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post; and by Jonathan Tamari and Julia Terruso of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
A Section on 05/12/2020