Just weeks after speculation that the White House was dismantling the coronavirus task force, the team is expanding
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The additions include Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Labor Secretary Gene Scalia, and two top government scientists: Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Peter Marks, who directs FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Also joining the task force is Thomas Engels, who heads the Health Resources and Services Administration.
The White House announcement touted Pence and President Donald Trump's efforts to slow the spread of the virus, including the task force's initial work on "delaying the arrival of the virus, testing, supply allocation and distribution, and mitigating the spread of the disease." "Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the efforts of the American people, we’ve saved lives, Slowed the Spread, and states are Opening Up Again,” the statement said.the task force as part of a plan to focus on reopening the economy and speeding up vaccine development. The president reversed his stance the next day and said the task force would continue "indefinitely."
"I thought we could wind it down sooner. But I had no idea how popular the task force is until, actually, yesterday when I started talking about winding it down," Trump said in the Oval Office on May 6. "I get calls from very respected people saying, 'I think it would be better to keep it going, it's done such a good job.' "
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