White House Aims to Reopen US Economy as Soon as Possible, Kudlow and Mnuchin Say

Trump administration hopes people can return to work in 'next four to eight weeks,' Kudlow says

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow talks to media outside the White House on Sept. 26, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

The White House aims to reopen the U.S. economy as soon as possible, to allow tens of millions of people to return to work, according to statements from President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The Trump administration hopes that “in the next four to eight weeks, we will be able to open the economy,” Kudlow told Politico in an interview on April 7. Mnuchin echoed the statement on Fox News.

“The president is very much looking at how we can reopen parts of the economy,” Mnuchin said. “There are parts of the country, like New York, where obviously this is very, very concerning. There are other parts of the country where it’s not.”

Amid the CCP virus pandemic, restaurants, hotels, bars, salons, entertainment venues, and a number of businesses deemed nonessential have been ordered to halt operations. More than 40 states have implemented stay-at-home orders, affecting nearly all aspects of daily life.

More than 10 million Americans have claimed unemployment benefits after being laid off because of the shutdown. Some experts project that the U.S. unemployment rate may surpass 20 percent in the coming months as more businesses go under.

Congress passed and the president signed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that will direct the government to make $1,200 payments to millions of Americans, provide “forgivable” loans to businesses to cover their payroll and other expenses, and prop up the airline industry, among other measures.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks with reporters outside the White House on March 13, 2020. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Kudlow told Fox on April 6 that a contingency plan has been formulated by the White House to help the economy as the outbreak subsides, after indications that New York, which has been the epicenter of the pandemic in the nation, has shown signs that the state is nearing the peak of the outbreak.

“The president would like to reopen the economy as soon as he can, and we are planning internally,” Kudlow said, adding that the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus is what will determine when the economy can be reopened. “I am hoping ... we’re only a few weeks away from a reopening. We’ll see.”

As of April 7, there have been more than 12,717 deaths and more than 394,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. On April 6, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated that the number of new hospitalizations and intensive care admissions appeared to be plateauing in New York, sparking some optimism from top White House officials.