Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) announced on Monday that the “worst” of the coronavirus outbreak in New York was now over, and that his government was forming a partnership with six other Northeastern states to coordinate how to end the lockdown.
According to The New York Times, the partnership, which includes the states of Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, consists of a bipartisan coalition of governors who will form plans for easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions over time.
“If you do it wrong, it can backfire, and we’ve seen that with other places in the globe,” said Cuomo. “What the art form is going to be here is doing that smartly and doing that in a coordinated way.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced a similar partnership with Oregon and Washington on the same day, with the three governments emphasizing the importance of a uniform response on the West Coast in a joint statement, reported The Los Angeles Times.
“COVID-19 doesn’t follow state or national boundaries,” said the three Democratic governors. “It will take every level of government, working together, and a full picture of what’s happening on the ground.”
The West Coast partnership covers approximately 51 million Americans living in the three states, and the Northeastern partnership covers about 53 million Americans. In total, the 10 states cover almost one in every three Americans.
The New York Times reported that, by announcing the partnerships, the governors were “all but disregarding President Trump just as he was trying to assert control over the question of when and how to re-open the country.”
President Donald Trump has since distanced himself from his previous stance — in which he suggested the decision to re-open should be done at the federal level — and has decided to encourage governors to take the lead in re-opening the economy, with respect to their individual states, reports The Daily Mail.
“I will be speaking to all 50 governors very shortly, And I will then be authorizing each individual governor of each individual state to implement a re-opening, very powerful reopening plan of their state in a timely manner which is most appropriate,” said Trump at the coronavirus press briefing on Tuesday.
“The governors are responsible, they have to take charge and do a great job,” said the president. “We have one country, but we have lots of different pieces. It’s a puzzle.”
“We have beautiful pieces, beautiful states with capable governors. They know when it’s time to open,” said the president, reported The Washington Examiner. “We don’t want to put pressure on anybody. I’m not going to put any pressure on any governor to open.”
Politico reported that Trump announced on Monday he wanted to have control over when to ease lockdown restrictions, suggesting that with respect to coronavirus, the authority to re-open the economy resides at the federal level.
“When somebody’s president of the United States, the authority is total,” said Trump, after he was asked about the governor’s reopening their own states. “The authority of the president of the United States, having to do with the subject we’re talking about, is total.”
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the remarks prompted Congressman Justin Amash (I-MI), who left the GOP last July, to suggest that he was considering a last-second presidential run.
“Americans who believe in limited government deserve another option,” tweeted Amash on Monday evening, in response to the president’s comments about federal authority. After a Twitter user replied to the congressman’s cryptic tweet saying “please be you,” Amash seemingly suggested that he was still considering a presidential run.
“Thanks. I’m looking at it closely this week,” said Amash.
Ten Governors Announce Regional Plans To Re-Open Economy. Trump Responds.
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April 15, 2020
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