But the nation’s governors, not Trump, exercise enormous control over such decisions, complicating the timing of restarting the economy. And CEOs and other business leaders will face hugely complex questions of when they can start safely bringing employees back to work, all of which will challenge a president who goes before voters this fall even as unemployment rates skyrocket to levels not seen since the Depression.
“I would hope that the scientific community would weigh in and say, ‘You can’t do this, it is only going to make matters worse if you go out too soon,’” Pelosi said when asked if she was worried Trump, with an eye on a second term in the White House, would try to reopen the country too soon.
Pelosi suggested there are numerous factors that would need to be assessed in making such decisions, including the possibility of secondary infections.
“What is it? Is it testing so that we know what we’re dealing with? Is it some standard as to how someone else would be received into a workplace?” Pelosi said. “We have to know. It’s data. And that’s something that I haven’t seen as the basis for any decision making. In fact, I’ve seen the opposite.”
Pelosi also said she hasn’t watched Trump’s daily briefings, in which the president often contradicts himself or offers false or inaccurate statements that his own team of health officials then have to rebut in real time.
“I don’t watch them. I sometimes see inadvertently or just by accident some of the news reporting on it,” Pelosi said of the briefings, which sometimes stretch for more than two hours. “But I just don’t have time for that, I am a busy person. I have a day job, and it’s not to watch the president contradict himself on TV.”
Still, the speaker has been a media tour de force of her own in recent weeks. Pelosi has appeared on cable news shows at least once a day, sometimes more, during this period. That’s in addition to multiple radio and print interviews she’s held as high-stakes negotiations with Republicans over a multi-trillion dollar coronavirus rescue effort continue.
Those talks hit a snag this week as Republicans tried to push through a $250 billion cash infusion for small businesses over Democrats’ objections. That comes on top of $350 billion that Congress recently approved for small businesses. The White House and GOP congressional leaders say more funding is needed quickly due to overwhelming demand from small businesses for federal aid.
Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wanted a portion of those funds guaranteed for minority and women owned businesses in addition to delivering another $250 billion for hospitals and state and local governments. Republicans objected, leading to a standoff on the Senate floor earlier Thursday.
The House will meet in its own pro forma session Friday but Pelosi, who is in California, downplayed the chance of any last minute drama. Pelosi, a devout Catholic, said those negotiations will essentially be on hold this weekend as many Americans celebrate Easter. The Senate convenes again Monday, making it unlikely congressional leaders will have agreed to a deal by then.
“We have put our marker down for a negotiation,” Pelosi said.
Source: politico.com
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