Ten governors in the Northeast and the West Coast announced Monday that they are crafting joint plans for reopening schools and businesses in their states, putting them on a collision course with President Trump, who said he has “the ultimate authority” on when to reopen states after the coronavirus crisis eases.
“When somebody is president of the United States, the authority is total,” Mr. Trump said.
In a move led by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that blindsided White House officials, the Democratic governors of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island banded together to form a Northeast regional task force to immediately begin designing a plan for reopening.
“You need the best public health plan and the best economic reactivation plan,” Mr. Cuomo said. “It has to be both. To the extent we can do that together, that is the best course. There’s no doubt about that.”
He said they would be “guided by experts and data and science, and not in a political way.”
Later on Monday, the Northeast coalition said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, was joining the group.
In the West, Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Kate Brown of Oregon, and Jay Inslee of Washington announced their own partnership. They said they have an agreement on a “shared vision” when the time comes to reopen their respective states’ economies.
“COVID-19 doesn’t follow state or national boundaries,” the three Democratic governors said. “It will take every level of government, working together, and a full picture of what’s happening on the ground.”
Mr. Newsom said he plans to offer more details on California’s reopening plan Tuesday. California has more than 23,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly 700 deaths, but the number of hospitalizations has stabilized in recent days.
The 10 states have a combined population of about 106 million, nearly one-third of the U.S. total.
None of the six governors in the Northeast mentioned a goal of reopening by May 1, which is the president’s soft target for getting at least portions of the country back in business.
The governors made their announcements hours after the president said he had the authority to decide when states should reopen for business.
“For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government,” Mr. Trump said in a series of tweets. “Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect. It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons.”
He said the administration is “working closely with the Governors, and this will continue.”
“A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!” the president said.
Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University, said Mr. Trump is “constitutionally wrong” with his declaration about his authority to reopen states for business.
“The President has persuasive, not command, authority,” Mr. Turley tweeted. “It remains a state decision under our system of federalism.”
The president insisted later during his daily televised coronavirus briefing that he will be calling the shots.
“I have the ultimate authority,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re very close to completing a plan to open our country, hopefully even ahead of schedule. We will soon finalize new and very important guidelines to give governors the information they need to start safely reopening their states.”
Mr. Cuomo said he will listen to what the president wants to do but added that Mr. Trump has generally left decisions up to the states during the crisis.
“I just want clarity,” Mr. Cuomo said. “It is an interesting construct that it wasn’t the federal responsibility to close the economy, but it is the federal government’s responsibility to open the economy. If it’s your authority to open, why [wasn’t] it your authority to close?”
Delaware Gov. John Carney thanked Mr. Cuomo for his leadership in New York “and across the country” during the crisis.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf also rejected the president’s claim of authority on decisions when to reopen. “Seeing as how we had the responsibility for closing the state down, we probably have the primary responsibility for opening it up,” he said.
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo said their move won’t change the states’ relationship with the administration.
“Throughout the crisis, the governors are the ones who have been showing great leadership and taking action to keep our residents safe,” she said. “And so I think it’s only appropriate that we do the same thing now by coming together and showing regional leadership to reopen the economy.”
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said he doesn’t want actions to be taken prematurely. “There’s nothing worse than a false start,” he said. “That would be so demoralizing for our economy.”
Mr. Trump is introducing a task force Tuesday to make recommendations to him about how and when to get the country back to work and school. He has mentioned the option of reopening in phases, starting with regions that haven’t been hit as hard by the virus as the Northeast.
The president’s task force will include Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin; Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross; White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow; U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer; and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
The president said last week that the group would be bipartisan and would include outsiders such as governors, business leaders and health care specialists.
Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said that by Wednesday, about 80 million Americans will receive direct payments of up to $1,200 this week, plus $500 per child, to help with the economic shutdown from the pandemic.
Mr. Trump has had a mixed relationship with governors during the crisis. He has alternated between basking in their praise and bristling when they complain about a slow or confused federal response on delivering medical supplies.
At a low point, the president acknowledged that he had urged Vice President Mike Pence, head of the White House coronavirus task force, not to talk to Democratic Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, calling her “that woman,” and Mr. Inslee, referring to him as a “snake.”
During the White House briefing, Mr. Trump showed a “sizzle reel” of video clips of various governors, including Mr. Newsom, Mr. Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, praising the president for quick action on their requests. It was produced Monday by White House staffers.
“We could give you hundreds of clips like that,” Mr. Trump said. “They [governors] can’t find anything to complain about. And honestly, many of them didn’t do their jobs. We help some of the ones that don’t know what they’re doing.”
Each of the Northeast governors will name a health and economic official for their states, plus each governor’s chiefs of staff, to form a working group to design a reopening plan.
Mr. Murphy, whose state’s cases of COVID-19 are still rising, spoke of reopening “whenever it is.”
“We do know this: An economic recovery only occurs on the back of a complete health care recovery,” Mr. Murphy said. “This is the fight of our lives. Reopening ourselves back up will be equally challenging.”
The debate over how and when to reopen businesses, restaurants and schools has grown increasingly urgent. Nearly 17 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past three weeks, and a $350 billion fund for small businesses to retain their workers is expected to run dry this week.
No visible progress was made Monday on a $250 billion administration request to replenish the fund. Senate Democrats blocked quick action on the proposal last week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, dug in on the list of demands Democrats want to see in the next round of coronavirus legislation, including money for national rapid testing and protective equipment.
“We have real problems facing this country, and it’s time for the Republicans to quit the political posturing by proposing bills they know will not pass either chamber and get serious and work with us towards a solution,” they said in a joint statement.
The Paycheck Protection Program was part of the $2.2 trillion economic rescue package that recently cleared Congress, but it is in danger of running out of money because of the overwhelming demand.
Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, chair of the National Governors Association, led another teleconference Monday with Vice President Mike Pence and White House officials in which he asked for $500 billion more for states.
“Without sufficient federal relief, states will have to confront the prospect of significant reductions to essential services, which will in turn devastate the economic recovery and our efforts to get people back to work,” Mr. Hogan said.
He said he also spoke to congressional leaders in both parties.
“This is not a time for politics,” Mr. Hogan said. “We have asked the administration to weigh in so that we can break this logjam in the Senate and get this done for the American people.”
• Tom Howell Jr. contributed to this report.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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