President Trump will likely unveil guidelines this week geared toward allowing certain parts of the country to reopen their economies, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said Tuesday.
Kudlow would not detail specifics of Trump’s proposal, saying only that he expects “some very important announcements” in the next few days.
“In the next few days, he will be making some very important announcements regarding those guidelines,” Kudlow told Fox Business Network.
“It’s a question of health. It’s a question of safety. And it’s a question of well-being so that Main Street folks, middle-class, blue-collar folks, we want to get them back to work as soon as we safely can,” he said. “I believe the country is ready to go back to work.”
Kudlow stressed that the decision on when to reopen parts or all of the economy would be driven by data presented by health experts in the administration. He acknowledged lifting restrictions would likely have to be done on a rolling basis as certain regions show more progress than others in fighting the virus.
His comments come on the same day Trump is expected to announce the members of what he has dubbed the “Reopening the Country Council,” a collection of Cabinet officials who will steer efforts to boost the economy in the face of the pandemic. The group’s membership and exact role remains unclear.
The economy has cratered in the last month as most of the country essentially shut down to contain the spread of the virus. Millions of Americans have filed for unemployment in the last few weeks alone, with the number expected to rise in April.
Trump, who has made the economy a central piece of his reelection argument, has appeared eager to lift federal social distancing guidelines that have urged Americans to limit gatherings to 10 or fewer people, to avoid public spaces like restaurants and to work from home if possible. Those guidelines are in place through the end of the month.
Many governors, however, have imposed more stringent measures at the state level that have closed nonessential businesses and urged residents to stay at home. Some of those measures are expected to remain in effect through much or all of May.
Trump asserted on Monday that he has “total authority” to dictate when states lift those restrictions, an argument that was quickly swatted down by Republicans, Democrats and legal experts who noted the Constitution delegates certain powers to states.