Vice President Mike Pence said the task force would disband around Memorial Day.
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After facing questions about disbanding the White House coronavirus task force even though the pandemic hasn't abated, President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that the task force would "continue on indefinitely" to focus on vaccines and therapeutics but that "we may add or subtract people."
As more states begin to ease restrictions even as the country's death toll continues to climb, the president also is conceding it's likely more lives will be lost in the push to reopen the U.S. economy, while many Americans struggle to choose between life and livelihood.
The U.S. death toll surpassed 70,000 Tuesday, and Trump admitted that it’s "possible" more Americans will die as governors lift orders that were invoked to slow the spread of the virus, during an interview with ABC News "World News Tonight" Anchor David Muir.
"It's possible there will be some because you won't be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is," Trump said, before criticizing "out of whack" models. "But at the same time, we're going to practice social distancing, we're going to be washing hands, we're going to be doing a lot of the things that we've learned to do over the last period of time."
Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis.
Here are Tuesday's most significant developments in Washington:
- Trump says 'task force will continue on indefinitely' after Pence said it was winding down around 'Memorial Day window, early June,' officials confirmed
- Trump to sign a proclamation in honor of National Nurses Day
- Trump meets with the GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa in Oval Office
- WH press secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a briefing in the afternoon
- Senators reconvene in Washington, some wearing masks as virus divides Congress
- How it started and how to protect yourself: Coronavirus explained
- What to do if you have symptoms: Coronavirus symptoms
- Tracking the spread in the U.S. and worldwide: Coronavirus map
Trump now says 'task force will continue on indefinitely'
President Trump has done something of an about-face on the future of the White House task force coordinating the government response to the coronavirus crisis, tweeting Wednesday morning that the task force will, in fact, "continue on indefinitely" but that "we may add or subtract people."
The president also said it will be "very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics" as he pushes for a quick economic revival.
The task force does have a meeting scheduled for today at 4 p.m. which Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to lead. Notably, it’s scheduled for the same time as the new White House press secretary’s briefing.
The president had said Tuesday the task force would take "a little bit of a different form."
"We'll have a different group, probably, set up for that," Trump said in Phoenix, adding that they’ll continue to be involved in White House decision-making along with "other doctors and so will other experts in the field."
Pence also told reporters that conversations were underway about winding down the task force by around Memorial Day.
Although Trump claims the task force will continue to exist, it remains to be seen whether it’ll meet as frequently and whether it’ll truly hold the elevated status it has over the last few months.
ABC News' Ben Gittleson
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