The Wall Street Journal - 04.04.2020 - 05.04.2020

A4| Saturday/Sunday, April 4 - 5, 2020 PWLC101112HTGKRFAM123456789OIXX ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

POLITICS

WASHINGTON

WIRE

Dispatches from the

Nation’s Capital

BYGABRIELT.RUBIN

cision-making process had

been undertaken by the presi-

dent’s policy advisers on that

question, much less on the

suggestion of Easter, the offi-

cial said. A spokesman said

the president had discussed

that timeline with some senior

administration officials.

By the end of the week, af-

ter being persuaded by the ad-

ministration’s health experts,

Mr. Trump changed course

and announced the restric-

tions would remain in place

until April 30. He later called

the Easter date “aspirational.”

Mr. Trump has sought to or-

ganize the government’s pan-

demic response through an in-

teragency task force that meets

daily in the White House.

There, too, his preference

for a loose organizational chart

and willingness to intervene

personally has at times galva-

nized action as the threat

mounted. But it has also mud-

dled coordination and messag-

ing, say some of those involved.

Mr. Trump has used Twitter

to take specific companies and

CEOs to task and often uses

daily briefings, some more than

two hours long, to spar with

reporters or showcase CEOs as-

sisting the government’s re-

sponse. He also closely tracks

the television ratings, repeat-

edly noting viewership com-

pares favorably to “The Bache-

lor,” a television show.

Administration officials ac-

knowledge they were slow to

take the virus seriously, as

testing for the disease proved

insufficient. And early on the

president repeatedly dismissed

the severity of the threat, lik-

ening the new coronavirus to

the annual flu season.

To some White House offi-

cials, Mr. Trump is adapting to

a constantly evolving situation

in a crisis with little precedent.

“The president has shown

exactly the kind of flexibility

needed to confront this en-

emy,” said Peter Navarro, the

president’s policy coordinator

for the Defense Production

Act, which allows the govern-

ment to compel private indus-

try to produce needed sup-

plies. “This is war, and we’re

in the fog of war right now.”

In recent weeks, Mr. Trump

and his administration have

taken dozens of actions to ad-

dress the crisis, restricting

travel from hot spots around

the globe and nonessential

movements within North

America that experts said will

help slow the spread. His team

is also responding to the eco-

nomic collapse stemming from

the virus, negotiating three

separate relief packages with

Congress while the Federal Re-

serve and Treasury Depart-

ment have worked in tandem

to make credit available to

markets and businesses.

Others say that the presi-

dent—and the apparatus he

put in place to handle the gov-

ernment’s response—has yet

to find the right balance be-

tween the urgency of respond-

ing to an unfolding situation

and maintaining the discipline

of a long-term crisis strategy.

After the White House’s ini-

tial response was hampered by

bureaucratic infighting and

poor communications, accord-

ing to aides, Mr. Trump has

taken more direct control. But

some say that has created a

different problem. “We’ve

gone from decisions taking too

long to decisions that aren’t

baked,” said one administra-

tion official.

The crisis footing today in

the White House, where the

virus dominates operations

and discussions like no other

issue since the start of the

Trump presidency, has been

three months in the making.

Mr. Trump has installed

Vice President Mike Pence as

the head of response coordina-

tion. His takeover brought

more structure to task-force

meetings but his team took

days to catch up on issues.

In mid-March, the dynamics

shifted again as Mr. Trump’s

senior adviser and son-in-law,

Jared Kushner, at the invita-

tion of Mr. Pence’s chief of

staff, became more involved in

response planning. Still, other

key officials were left out.

FEMA Administrator Peter

Gaynor wasn’t invited to join

the task force until mid-

March.

More recently, the center of

decision making has shifted

again, this time away from the

task force and toward smaller

huddles between the president

and his advisers, including

Treasury Secretary Steven

Mnuchin, Mr. Kushner and Mr.

Navarro, some officials say.

In the past week, Mr. Trump

has relied heavily for advice and

participation in White House

briefings on two doctors: An-

thony Fauci, an immunologist

who is director of the National

Institute of Allergy and Infec-

tious Diseases; and Deborah Birx,

an international health expert.

A MAJOR REPUBLICAN
FUNDRAISERsays he is leaving
politics to sell coronavirus pro-
tective equipment, putting his
high-profile political customers in
an awkward spot. Mike Gula, a
top fundraiser for several Repub-

lican senators and other groups,

told clients last week of his

plans to leave politics to start a

new company. The new business,

Blue Flame Medical, advertises

“hard-to-find medical supplies,”

including coronavirus test kits

and respirators.

Governors and public-health

officials at all levels of govern-

ment have warned that they

don’t have enough personal pro-

tective equipment like masks to

deal with the crush of coronavi-

rus cases. Blue Flame’s website

says it has “assembled the larg-

est global chain of Covid-19 sup-

plies.” It isn’t known how the ca-

reer political consultant quickly

obtained the critical equipment.

Requests for comment to the

company and Gula went unan-

swered.

Gula had several commit-

ments in political fundraising

that are now up in the air. Sen.

Steve Dainesof Montana, who

faces a competitive re-election

race against Gov. Steve Bullock,

was paying Gula to set up sev-

eral fundraising events. Daines’s

campaign didn’t respond to re-

quests to comment.

The Democratic Senate cam-

paign arm moved to capitalize on

Republican senators’ connections

to Gula, accusing him of “profit-

ing off [the] coronavirus crisis.”

FIGHTS OVER JUDICIAL AP-

POINTMENTScontinue, despite

the virus preventing the Senate

from voting on nominations.

President Trump this week nom-

inated Cory Wilson, a Mississippi

judge and former state represen-

tative, to an appeals court seat.

He was previously nominated to

a federal district court but was

never confirmed. Democrats and

liberal groups such as Planned

Parenthood and the Leadership

Council on Civil and Human

Rights have raised alarms about

his record, including his staunch

opposition to abortion and the

Affordable Care Act.

Conservatives, including Mis-

sissippi Sen. Roger Wicker, said

they were “delighted” with

Trump’s pick. Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell has made no

secret of his desire to fill every

available open federal court

judgeship with young conserva-

tives while Trump is president;

he has reportedly urged older

Republican appointees to retire

soon rather than wait until after

the November election, in case

Trump loses the election or Re-

publicans lose the Senate.

INSTACART ANDWHOLE

FOODS employees, essential

workers during the pandemic,

get a boost for their demands

for sick leave, hazard pay and

protective equipment from top

progressives. Democrats includ-

ing Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep.

Ilhan Omar and Sen. Sherrod

Brown have urged consumers to

support them. “When people are

on strike, don’t cross the picket

line,” Warren wrote to the large

email list from her now ended

presidential campaign. “Shop

somewhere else.”

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

are retreating to self-isolation af-

ter passing a $2.2 trillion stimu-

lus package—with the exception

of those serving in the National

Guard. Democratic Rep. Max

Rose is serving as an operations

officer in the Army National

Guard in New York, working on

coronavirus response. Rep. Tulsi

Gabbard said when she left the

Democratic presidential race last

month she was ready to be acti-

vated by the Hawaii National

Guard, and GOP Rep. Adam Kin-

zinger, a lieutenant colonel in the

Air National Guard, called on

Trump to use Guard troops to

handle challenges of virus re-

sponse. Fifteen members of Con-

gress serve in the Guard.

PETE BUTTIGIEG’s first

month off the campaign trail

hasn’t gone as expected. As the

coronavirus outbreak gained

steam, he guest-hosted an audi-

ence-free episode of “Jimmy

Kimmel Live” in Los Angeles, in-

terviewing Star Trek legend Pat-

rick Stewart. A Tuesday discus-

sion with the Georgetown

Institute of Politics became a

live stream, with Buttigieg’s dog

barking loudly in the background.

“I’m not expected to shave as

regularly,” he said, sporting a

beard and home-buzzed haircut

that his husband, Chasten, gave

him.

MINOR MEMOS:White

House staffer spotted lugging

paper-towel rolls into the West

Wing. ... At White House briefing,

Dr. Anthony Fauci demonstrates

how a sneeze could project drop-

lets 27 feet away: “That is a

very, very robust, vigorous, ah-

choo sneeze.”

WASHINGTON—As the cor-
onavirus pandemic sweeps the
U.S., President Trump has put
the government on what offi-
cials describe as a war footing.
He has ordered private com-
panies to manufacture supplies,
deployed parts of the military,
restricted travel, led daily pub-
lic briefings and pushed offi-
cials to deliver relief.
The government’s response
has ramped up, even as the
White House’s own routines
are disrupted in ways large
and small. About 75% of staff
are working from home; some
of the rest wear masks to
work. In the Oval Office, where
officials usually crowd around
the Resolute Desk, they now
maintain their social distance.
But some aides and other
government officials say the
president’s own actions at
times have exacerbated the in-
evitable uncertainty and ad
hoc planning.
Mr. Trump’s freewheeling
leadership style—which has
been on display in the hurly-
burly of Washington politics
throughout his 38 months in
office—is being tested at a
moment of national crisis.
At several points during the
past few weeks, for instance,
Mr. Trump has upended the
administration’s virus re-
sponse with off-the-cuff re-
marks and public musings or
by pushing to announce initia-
tives before they were ready,
according to aides.
Last Saturday, Mr. Trump
floated to reporters the idea of
a quarantine for New York, New
Jersey and Connecticut hours
after talking to Florida’s gover-
nor, who was concerned about
vacationers heading south.
The president’s statements
caught many of his staff off
guard, setting off a frenzied
response and a flurry of news
coverage. Later the same day,
after an outcry from the
Northeastern governors and
some of his own advisers, the
president ditched the idea.
And last week, Mr. Trump
spoke to Wall Street moguls
worried about the president’s
message that social-distancing
guidelines might remain in
place until August. Not long
after, the president changed
tack and suggested lifting the
restrictions by Easter, April
12, to help jump-start the
economy, noting that the eco-
nomic impact of the pandemic
could be worse than the ef-
fects of the disease itself.
Advisers had huddled to
discuss whether it would make
sense for the president to an-
nounce a specific date for full
economic activity to resume,
according to one administra-
tion official. But no formal de-

BYMICHAELC.BENDER
ANDREBECCABALLHAUS

Virus Response Adds to ‘Fog of War’

When the Ohio primary was

delayed last month, congres-

sional candidate Kate Schroder

went from primarily focused

on winning her race to scram-

bling to make payroll.

Ms. Schroder’s campaign

quickly pulled down its re-

maining television and digital

ads, adding more than $10,

to a bank account that was

running dry.

“We suddenly had to fund-

raise for payroll and opera-

tions because we hadn’t ex-

pected to need primary

resources for that,” said Ms.

Schroder, a Democrat who also

serves on the Cincinnati Board

of Health.

More than a dozen states

have delayed nominating con-

tests in presidential and

down-ballot races due to the

new coronavirus outbreak, but

Ohio’s move in mid-March was

the most jarring for cam-

paigns—the state’s governor

decided to postpone in-person

voting the night before the

scheduled primary date.

That was disruptive to the

presidential campaigns but

more so for operations such as

Ms. Schroder’s. Many cam-

paigns budget to the primary

since fundraising typically gets

easier once a candidate be-

comes the nominee and tends

to receive more help from the

political party. Campaigns are

also allowed to receive only

$2,800 per donor for the pri-

mary and cannot use general-

election donations for the nom-

inating contest, according to

the Federal Election Commis-

sion. The FEC said campaigns

affected by postponements can

continue accepting primary

contributions until the date of

their rescheduled elections.

Ohio state Senate candidate

Melissa Ackison, a Republican,

was sharing updates with sup-

porters on Facebook Live as

the Ohio primary delay was

announced, knowing her cam-

paign had drained its account.

“The bank account was as

close to zero as you could pos-

sibly get,” said Ms. Ackison,

who co-owns a land surveying

business. “I literally had to

start all over again.” She said

she is now buying ads on

streaming services to reach

voters who are staying home.

Some campaigns had time

to prepare for delays. In Texas,

the Democratic Senate runoff

was delayed from May 26 to

July 14. Campaigns in other

states are still unsure if there

will be delays.

BYEMILYGLAZER

Delayed

Primaries

Disrupt

Budgets

will try to hold its primary

election on Tuesday, despite

the coronavirus disruption.

But a series of states have

opted to delay their voting

until June.

As a result, a kind of sec-

ond Super Tuesday—utterly

unplanned—has emerged on

June 2, when 10 states will

vote. All told, 14 states plus

the District of Columbia now

will vote in June.

The changes will delay the

time when former Vice Presi-

dent Joe Biden can formally

sew up the Democratic nomi-

nation. That, in turn, will

push back the start of the

general-election campaign.

A clear sign of that effect

came this week, when the

Democratic National Commit-

tee delayed the start of its

convention until Aug. 17—

more than a month later than

originally planned.

More important, the con-

tent of the race has been up-

ended. President Trump’s

handling of the coronavirus

outbreak now figures to be

the centerpiece of the cam-

paign. The president will, as

he does every day at White

House briefings, portray

himself as a decisive leader,

while Democrats will point

to early missteps as a meta-

phor for a chaotic presi-

dency. Democrats also will

play up their argument that

they are the party most

trusted to handle health is-

sues.

Who benefits? Impossible

to say. Despite Democrats’

jabs, Mr. Trump’s job-ap-

proval rating has gone up

during the crisis. On the

other hand, Democrats usu-

ally are more trusted on

health care. Yet Mr. Biden

also will have to push back

on liberals’ desire to use the

crisis to advance their argu-

ment for a wholesale trans-

formation into a government-

run health system, which he

considers a bridge too far.

The 2020 presidential
campaign is being trans-
formed right before our eyes.
The calendar, pace and
content of the
race all have
undergone
radical shifts
in the past
two weeks be-
cause of the
coronavirus crisis. The result
will be a shorter and even
more intense general election,
with consequences both large
and largely unpredictable.
The most obvious impact
is on the calendar. Wisconsin

BYGERALDF.SEIB

Campaign 2020 Is Morphing, With Unknown Consequences

The Democratic National Convention, to be held at the Fiserv

Forum in Milwaukee, has been pushed back to mid-August.

ERIC BARADAT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES



THIS

WEEK

President Trump has organized the response through a task force led by Vice President Pence that meets daily in the White House.

FROM TOP: KEVIN DIETSCH/ZUMA PRESS; STEVE HELBER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Some aides say the

president’s actions

at times have stirred

uncertainty.