Oh, this is almost too much winning.  Almost…  President Trump has appointed White House Manufacturing Advisor Peter Navarro to lead all U.S. coordination of the Defense Production Act.   Just like that… presto… Navarro becomes a bazillion times more powerful than CoC President Tom Donohue.   Delicious.

WASHNGTON – President Trump announced Friday he is appointing his trade adviser Peter Navarro to serve as his national Defense Production Act policy coordinator after using the act to force General Motors to begin making ventilators to treat coronavirus patients.

“He’s a tremendous guy and he will do a fantastic job,” the president said during a press briefing with his coronavirus taskforce at the White House. He said Navarro will serve as the national Defense Production Act coordinator for the federal government. (link)

Peter Navarro has been a long-term China hawk warning about the risk of U.S. multinationals doing critical supply-chain manufacturing overseas.  Navarro, working closely with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, has been the tip of the spear in the execution of America First policy and jobs.

This appointment, and these additional responsibilities, is a recognition for his efforts.

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Democrats and resistance media writ large have been demanding that President Trump invoke the Defense Production Act to force companies to make equipment for the fight against the coronavirus.   Until today, most companies voluntarily adjusted their manufacturing systems and networks to assist; so forced compliance was not needed.

However, General Motors now states an inability to meet their prior commitments for the manufacture of ventilators:

Now it really gets interesting… The CEO of GM is Mary Barra, considered a hero amid the political circles of democrats; and considered a potential pick for vice-president on a Democrat ticket.  Despite her generally weak leadership, democrats adore her resistance bona-fides.

The axiom: “be careful what you wish for” applies big time, because President Trump has just triggered the Defense Production Act to force General Motors to comply with their initial promise.  By playing games, again; CEO Mary Barra put herself in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.

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President Trump called-in to Fox News host Sean Hannity for an extensive interview on the latest coronavirus developments.  Full interview below:

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President Donald Trump sent the following letter [pdf here] to our nations’ governors in response to the national COVID-19 crisis:

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You knew it was going to happen… The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (President Tom Donohue) begins having apoplectic fits at the thought of even stronger Trump administration policies that might undercut their Chinese manufacturing investments.

The U.S. CoC is the biggest stakeholder of U.S. multinational companies doing business in China.  The Trump administration has been warning them for years to put America First in their business plans; and now with the Chinese Pandemic showing just how dangerous it is for critical manufacturing to be made in the U.S.A, chamber President Tom Donohue is pleading to keep the U.S. dependent on China.

Keep in mind, this is the EXACT SAME group who said the steel and aluminum tariffs were going to cause massive inflation driving up the price of all consumer goods and cars by thousands of dollars… It never happened; because the CoC are manipulative liars.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House plans to expand “Buy America” mandates to the medical equipment and pharmaceutical sectors could worsen shortages of urgently needed medicines and delay discovery of a vaccine for the new coronavirus, over 80 business groups warned.

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President Trump, Vice President Pence and the COVID-19 task force hold a press briefing from the White House to provide updates and take questions from the media. The anticipated start time is 5:00pm ET.  Livestreams Below

WH Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – RSBN Livestream Link

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On the heels of more than three million new unemployment claims, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin calls in to CNBC for a phone interview to discuss the coronavirus relief bill that passed last night.

Mnuchin was asked about his reaction to seeing the 3.28 million new unemployment claims reported for the past week during the interview. Mnuchin said, “To be honest, I think these numbers right now aren’t relevant whether they’re bigger or shorter in the short term.”  WATCH:

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Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser closes the nation’s capital until April 25th, effectively closing all public gatherings for one month. [Order pdf Here]

There is a certain aspect to dèjá-vu showing up on the horizon… Welcome to an economic civil war. But first, the latest details.

WASHINGTON DC –  The intent of the Order is to temporarily cease all non-essential business activities, including tour guides and touring services; gyms, health clubs, spas, and massage establishments; theaters, auditoriums, and other places of large gatherings; nightclubs; hair, nail, and tanning salons and barbershops; tattoo parlors; sales not involved in essential services; retail clothing stores; and professional services not devoted to assisting essential business operations.

The Order goes into effect on March 25, 2020, at 10 pm, through April 24, 2020 (link)

On the horizon it appears the state and regional shutdowns are going to mirror the shutdowns from Obama’s infamous sequester-fiasco from the spring of 2013.  That looks like the road-map that will be followed as the coronavirus issue starts to level-off.

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With caution applied, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced around 2:00am ET a deal had been reached for the nearly $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) bill.

The final language for “HR.748” (stripped and newly assembled) will take place today.  Looks like the senate is using an old bill, previously passed by the House, so the House can deem and pass, without formally reconvening. There are ten republican amendments. Speaking from the floor, both McConnell and Schumer made remarks describing the bill.

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Here’s the transcript from the President Trump COVID-19 Task Force town hall event earlier today.

[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Bill.

Q Unusual circumstances, where you’re trying to communicate with the American people and we’re trying to maybe bring the American people a little closer to you and get some answers.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that’s true.

Q To you, Mr. President, when was the moment that you thought, “We got to move on this”?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think when I started seeing and reading about China, and seeing what was going on in China — Wuhan, specifically. It seemed to come mostly out of there — that area, the province.

And when I saw that, and I saw the kind of death they were, you know, talking about on television, in the papers, and I started reading a lot about it. And, really, when I had to make a decision: Do I stop people from China and specifically that area — but from China — to come into the country? And everybody was against it. Almost everybody, I would say, was just absolutely against it. We’ve never done it before. We never made a decision like that.

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