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Pritzker says governors, not Trump, will decide when to reopen their states
On a day when Democratic governors on the East and West coasts formed regional alliances to decide together how and when to re-open their states, President Donald Trump declared he has, "ultimate authority" to overrule them.
CHICAGO - On a day when Democratic governors on the East and West coasts formed regional alliances to decide together how and when to re-open their states, President Donald Trump declared he has, "ultimate authority" to overrule them.
“The federal government has absolute power. It has the power. As to whether or not I’ll use that power, we'll see,” Trump said. “The authority of the President of the United States on the subject we're talking about is total.”
Earlier in the day, President Trump posted two tweets to the same effect, prompting Governor JB Pritzker to assert that he will decide when it's safe to cancel his order shutting down schools and non-essential businesses.
Governor Pritzker seemed to suggest Illinois won't be re-opening quickly, since it's likely to be many weeks before sufficient amounts of personal protective equipment and reliable testing are widely available to the general public.
President Trump said in the next few days he plans to name specific states that should begin re-opening their economies.