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President Donald Trump on Thursday released a set of federal guidelines to restore commerce and services nationwide in phases as states reach expected peaks in death tolls from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before a public announcement detailing the plans, Trump told governors they would “call their own shots,” according to the Associated Press. The comments were contradictory to statements he made days earlier, when he said he had “total authority” over reopening the economy. The earlier statement drew bipartisan objections from governors.
Amid a pandemic that’s all but wiped out 10 years of steady job growth, the White House initially agreed to leave major decisions in the hands of states.
But when Trump abruptly reversed course, despite clear constitutional limitations, experts and governors sounded alarms over the president’s falsehood.
“The president’s position is just absurd,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, in an appearance Tuesday on “CBS This Morning.” “We don’t have a king. We have a president.”
Across the political aisle, New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu later clarified on CNN where the true power behind the nation’s economic shutdown rested: “All of these executive orders are state executive orders and so therefore it would be up to the state and the governor to undo a lot of that.”
White House plans issued Thursday focused on easing restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, AP reported. But federal officials warned that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through the end of the year to prevent a second spike in cases nationwide.
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