Published on February 27, 2020 at 04:58AM by By LAURAN NEERGAARD and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that the U.S. is “very, very ready” for whatever the coronavirus threat brings, and he put his vice president in charge of overseeing the nation's response.
Trump sought to minimize fears of the virus spreading widely across the U.S. But he said he was ready to spend “whatever's appropriate,” even if that meant the extra billions of dollars that Democrats have said is necessary to beef up the U.S. response. Trump had told Congress earlier this week that the government needed to spend $2.5 billion to fight the virus.
“We're very, very ready for this, for anything,” even if it's “a breakout of larger proportions,” Trump told a news conference.
Vice President Mike Pence will be working with the government's top health authorities, and Trump's earlier-appointed coronavirus task force, to oversee the response.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump pushed back Wednesday against criticism that his administration isn't doing enough to meet the coronavirus threat, as lawmakers called for giving disease fighters much more money than the $2.5 billion the White House has requested.
A day after he sought to minimize fears of the virus spreading widely across the U.S., Trump prepared to hold a White House press conference with experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, health officials said three new coronavirus cases have been reported in the U.S., bringing the tally here to 60.
Trump tweeted Wednesday that the CDC, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and others in the administration are “doing a great job with respect to Coronavirus!” and accused some news outlets of “panicking markets.”
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