Trump uses Defense Production Act to require GM to make ventilators WEEKS LATE
MISOGYNIST TRUMP ATTACKS GM'S FEMALE CEO
BY BRETT SAMUELS - THE HILL 03/27/20
President Trump on Friday used the Defense Production Act to compel General Motors (GM) to produce ventilators to combat the coronavirus after days of hesitating to use the powers in the law.
The president in a statement said the federal government had abandoned negotiations with the automaker on ventilator production, complaining that the automaker was "wasting time."
"Our negotiations with GM regarding its ability to supply ventilators have been productive, but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course," Trump said.
"GM was wasting time," the president asserted. "Today’s action will help ensure the quick production of ventilators that will save American lives."
The Trump administration had reportedly been negotiating with GM to make tens of thousands of ventilators, but talks broke down due to concerns that the price tag would exceed $1 billion.
The president turned his ire on the automaker earlier Friday, singling out CEO Mary Barra for criticism.
"As usual with 'this' General Motors, things just never seem to work out," Trump tweeted. "They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, 'very quickly'. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B."
Trump in a separate tweet called on GM to reopen a Lordstown, Ohio, plant that the company shuttered last year and sold in November.
The use of the Defense Production Act gives Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar authority to determine how many ventilators are appropriate. The department has not responded to requests for comment about whether they have taken an inventory of the devices.
It was not immediately clear how quickly GM would be able to scale up ventilator production. The company said in a news release earlier Friday that it was partnering with medical device maker Ventec to convert an Indiana GM facility into a ventilator production plant.
The companies said they expected the first ventilators will be available next month with the ability to produce more than 10,000 per month after that.
State leaders have warned they are running dangerously low on the breathing machines as hospital capacity fills up in areas dealing with significant outbreaks. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has projected the state will need 30,000 ventilators, while Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has indicated the state will run out in early April.
"We desperately needed the Defense Production Act invoked to ensure the production of life-saving ventilators. We are relieved that just happened. Lives depend on it," Cuomo tweeted Friday afternoon.
Trump invoked the act last week, which gives the president extraordinary powers to compel private companies to manufacture critical supplies in times of crisis. But he had yet to actually use it to ramp up production of masks, ventilators and other materials that hospitals and state leaders have said are dangerously scarce.
The president and his aides had insisted in recent days that the DPA effectively provided leverage and that private companies were producing sufficient supplies. Trump earlier this week also expressed a reluctance to use the act because he worried that doing so amounted to "nationalizing" industries.
Trump on Thursday night questioned some of the requests for ventilators coming from state leaders.
"I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they’re going to be," Trump said on Fox News.
"I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators," he added. "You know, you go into major hospitals, sometimes they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they're saying, 'Can we order 30,000 ventilators?'"
But as the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has risen, the need has become more dire. The U.S. has more cases than any other nation with more than 97,000. Roughly 1,500 Americans had died from the virus as of late Friday afternoon.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/489909-trump-uses-defense-production-act-to-require-gm-to-make-ventilators
Trump presses GM, Ford over ventilators
President Trump on Friday lashed out at General Motors, pressing it and Ford in a tweet that they should be churning out ventilators to be used to treat patients with the coronavirus.
Trump issued a series of tweets that spurred confusion about his use of the Defense Production Act and muddled his messaging on the need for the breathing machines one day after he questioned whether states were overestimating how many they would need in the coming months.
"General Motors MUST immediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW!!!!!! FORD, GET GOING ON VENTILATORS, FAST!!!!!!" Trump tweeted, referring to a shuttered GM plant that the company sold late last year.
The president in a separate tweet appeared to confirm a New York Times report that the government and GM negotiated a deal that would lead to the production of up to 80,000 ventilators but that it fell through due to unease with a price tag of more than $1 billion.
"As usual with 'this' General Motors, things just never seem to work out. They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, 'very quickly'. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B," Trump tweeted, swiping at CEO Mary Barra.
General Motors said in a news release Friday that it is partnering with medical device maker Ventec to convert an Indiana GM facility into a ventilator production plant. The companies said they expect the first ventilators will be available next month with the ability to produce more than 10,000 per month after that.
Barra had faced intense criticism from Trump and lawmakers in both parties in late 2018 and early 2019 after GM announced it would close the Lordstown plant in Ohio, along with four other North American factories. Trump praised Barra in May 2019 as a deal to sell the Lordstown plant to an electric truck company emerged.
A Ford spokesperson said Friday afternoon that the automaker was in contact with the Trump administration seeking guidance on manufacturing and distributing certain products, including ventilators.
Trump added "Invoke 'P'" to the end of one of his Friday tweets, which he later clarified was a reference to the Defense Production Act (DPA). The president last week invoked the DPA, which allows him to compel companies to manufacture critical supplies in times of crisis.
But he has resisted actually using the act to direct companies to make ventilators, masks and other personal protective equipment, even as hospitals and state and local officials warn they are in desperate need of the supplies.
The president has argued that the companies are already producing enough and that the DPA can be used as leverage. His tweets on Friday did not appear to change that stance.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump added that the federal government had purchased "many Ventilators from some wonderful companies," saying that he would disclose more information later Friday. The White House coronavirus task force is scheduled to hold its daily briefing at 5 p.m. EDT. Trump often speaks at the briefings.
The tweets amounted to something of an about-face from Trump's comments on Fox News late Thursday when he cast doubt on the need for mass production and distribution of ventilators to states dealing with coronavirus outbreaks.
"I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators," Trump said. "You know, you go into major hospitals, sometimes they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they're saying, 'Can we order 30,000 ventilators?'"
The U.S. has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases of any country in the world, with more than 86,000 as of Friday morning. More than 1,300 Americans have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Updated at 2:12 p.m. Sylvan Lane contributed.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/489849-trump-lashes-out-at-gm-ford-over-ventilators
Trump 'doesn't believe' hospitals really need the ventilators they're asking for and haggles over price instead
Moya Lothian-McLean THE INDEPENDENT 3/27/2020
During the coronavirus crisis, it seems one of the primary problems countries are facing is the lack of ventilators available.
A shortage has struck nations across Europe like Italy, Germany and the UK (who have been criticised for their handling of the issue).
The US is also suffering from a lack of the life-saving machines.
Although the government has a stockpile of 16,000 ventilators, a sharp increase in cases means many more are thought to be needed.
A projection from the American Hospital Association said that up to 960,000 could require ventilators, although not all at the same time.
In New York State alone, Governor Andew Cumo said they need 30,000 more.
And now reports are emerging that Donald Trump’s administration has paused a deal for up to 80,000 ventilators in order to allegedly “haggle” over the price.
The New York Times reports that a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems has been called off after the Federal Management Agency said it “it needed more time to assess whether the estimated cost was prohibitive”.
The estimated price tag was $1.5bn ($18,000 per ventilator).
Ventilators were going to be produced by General Motors plants using Ventec’s technology.
Initial projections of 20,000 ventilators produced in the first run were reduced to 7,500, according to the Times.
And Trump’s administration apparently couldn’t decide how many ventilators it wants – or at what price.
Instead of closing the deal, FEMA is apparently still “weighing competing offers”.
Or, as New York Magazine put it: “haggling”.
Trump himself seems confused over the demand for ventilators.
In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on the 27 March, he said he “[didn’t] believe” that hospitals needed 30,000 ventilators.
“A lot of equipment is being asked for that I don’t think they will need,” he told Hannity.
I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they are going to be. I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You know, you go to major hospitals, sometimes they’ll have 2 ventilators. And now all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’
This comment was swiftly challenged by people who pointed out New York is currently so overwhelmed it’s putting two people to every one ventilator.
And others chimed in with their concern regarding the suspended ventilator deal.
At an intensely worrying time, the last thing the country needs is the self-proclaimed ‘deal maker’ doing his worst.
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 03/27/20 THE HILL
President Trump on Friday lashed out at General Motors, pressing it and Ford in a tweet that they should be churning out ventilators to be used to treat patients with the coronavirus.
Trump issued a series of tweets that spurred confusion about his use of the Defense Production Act and muddled his messaging on the need for the breathing machines one day after he questioned whether states were overestimating how many they would need in the coming months.
"General Motors MUST immediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW!!!!!! FORD, GET GOING ON VENTILATORS, FAST!!!!!!" Trump tweeted, referring to a shuttered GM plant that the company sold late last year.
The president in a separate tweet appeared to confirm a New York Times report that the government and GM negotiated a deal that would lead to the production of up to 80,000 ventilators but that it fell through due to unease with a price tag of more than $1 billion.
"As usual with 'this' General Motors, things just never seem to work out. They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, 'very quickly'. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B," Trump tweeted, swiping at CEO Mary Barra.
General Motors said in a news release Friday that it is partnering with medical device maker Ventec to convert an Indiana GM facility into a ventilator production plant. The companies said they expect the first ventilators will be available next month with the ability to produce more than 10,000 per month after that.
Barra had faced intense criticism from Trump and lawmakers in both parties in late 2018 and early 2019 after GM announced it would close the Lordstown plant in Ohio, along with four other North American factories. Trump praised Barra in May 2019 as a deal to sell the Lordstown plant to an electric truck company emerged.
A Ford spokesperson said Friday afternoon that the automaker was in contact with the Trump administration seeking guidance on manufacturing and distributing certain products, including ventilators.
Trump added "Invoke 'P'" to the end of one of his Friday tweets, which he later clarified was a reference to the Defense Production Act (DPA). The president last week invoked the DPA, which allows him to compel companies to manufacture critical supplies in times of crisis.
But he has resisted actually using the act to direct companies to make ventilators, masks and other personal protective equipment, even as hospitals and state and local officials warn they are in desperate need of the supplies.
The president has argued that the companies are already producing enough and that the DPA can be used as leverage. His tweets on Friday did not appear to change that stance.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump added that the federal government had purchased "many Ventilators from some wonderful companies," saying that he would disclose more information later Friday. The White House coronavirus task force is scheduled to hold its daily briefing at 5 p.m. EDT. Trump often speaks at the briefings.
The tweets amounted to something of an about-face from Trump's comments on Fox News late Thursday when he cast doubt on the need for mass production and distribution of ventilators to states dealing with coronavirus outbreaks.
"I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators," Trump said. "You know, you go into major hospitals, sometimes they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they're saying, 'Can we order 30,000 ventilators?'"
The U.S. has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases of any country in the world, with more than 86,000 as of Friday morning. More than 1,300 Americans have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Updated at 2:12 p.m. Sylvan Lane contributed.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/489849-trump-lashes-out-at-gm-ford-over-ventilators
Trump 'doesn't believe' hospitals really need the ventilators they're asking for and haggles over price instead
Moya Lothian-McLean THE INDEPENDENT 3/27/2020
During the coronavirus crisis, it seems one of the primary problems countries are facing is the lack of ventilators available.
A shortage has struck nations across Europe like Italy, Germany and the UK (who have been criticised for their handling of the issue).
The US is also suffering from a lack of the life-saving machines.
Although the government has a stockpile of 16,000 ventilators, a sharp increase in cases means many more are thought to be needed.
A projection from the American Hospital Association said that up to 960,000 could require ventilators, although not all at the same time.
In New York State alone, Governor Andew Cumo said they need 30,000 more.
And now reports are emerging that Donald Trump’s administration has paused a deal for up to 80,000 ventilators in order to allegedly “haggle” over the price.
The New York Times reports that a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems has been called off after the Federal Management Agency said it “it needed more time to assess whether the estimated cost was prohibitive”.
The estimated price tag was $1.5bn ($18,000 per ventilator).
Ventilators were going to be produced by General Motors plants using Ventec’s technology.
Initial projections of 20,000 ventilators produced in the first run were reduced to 7,500, according to the Times.
And Trump’s administration apparently couldn’t decide how many ventilators it wants – or at what price.
Instead of closing the deal, FEMA is apparently still “weighing competing offers”.
Or, as New York Magazine put it: “haggling”.
Trump himself seems confused over the demand for ventilators.
In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on the 27 March, he said he “[didn’t] believe” that hospitals needed 30,000 ventilators.
“A lot of equipment is being asked for that I don’t think they will need,” he told Hannity.
I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they are going to be. I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You know, you go to major hospitals, sometimes they’ll have 2 ventilators. And now all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’
This comment was swiftly challenged by people who pointed out New York is currently so overwhelmed it’s putting two people to every one ventilator.
And others chimed in with their concern regarding the suspended ventilator deal.
At an intensely worrying time, the last thing the country needs is the self-proclaimed ‘deal maker’ doing his worst.
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