Groups of Governors Form Task Forces to Reopen States

But it's not their decision to make, Trump says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 13, 2020 3:42 PM CDT
Groups of Governors Will Work Together to Reopen States
In this March 24, 2020 photo, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference against a backdrop of medical supplies at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.   (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Two groups of Democratic governors are forming regional task forces to work together on safely reopening their states. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he is working with the governors of New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Delaware to form a task force on reopening economies in a way that is "driven by data and experts, not opinion and politics," NBC New York reports. Each state will contribute a public health official, an economic development official, and their governor's chief of staff to the task force. "The house is still on fire. We still have to put the fire out, but we do have to begin putting in the pieces of the puzzle that we know we’re going to need," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a conference call with the other governors Monday, per the AP.

Cuomo said that while the states may not end up with a "fully common strategy," regional cooperation will be vital. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that he is working with the governors of Oregon and Washington on coordinating plans to reopen West Coast economies, reports the New York Times. In a tweet before the governors' announcements, President Trump accused the media of "creating conflict and confusion" by "saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states," not that of the president and the federal government. "This is incorrect," Trump said, though Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf disagreed. "Well, seeing as we had the responsibility for closing the state down, I think we probably have the primary responsibility for opening it up," he said. (More coronavirus stories.)

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