Pelosi: Trump Must Immediately Use Defense Production Act Powers

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is calling on President Donald Trump to take immediate action in responding to the coronavirus crisis.

“There is not a day to lose,” Pelosi tweeted.

Trump announced on Wednesday that he is invoking the Defense Production Act to allow the government to accelerate the creation of equipment that medical professionals are in desperate need of, as IJR previously reported.

Pelosi released an official statement outlining the need for additional resources including testing and equipment.

“Right now, shortages of critical medical and personal protective equipment are harming our ability to fight the coronavirus epidemic, endangering frontline workers and making it harder to care for those who fall ill,” Pelosi wrote.

In order to help relieve the devastating impact that the coronavirus has had globally and across the United States, Trump signed a coronavirus emergency relief package into law on Wednesday, as IJR reported.

The initiative titled the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” is designed to provide paid leave for some, additional funds for food assistance and enhanced unemployment benefits.

In Pelosi’s statement, she proceeded to explain how the lack of immediate action will lead to consequences.

“The President must immediately use the powers of the Defense Production Act to mass produce and coordinate distribution of these critical supplies, before the need worsens and the shortages become even more dire,” Pelosi wrote.

“There is not a day to lose. We must put more testing, more protective equipment and more ventilators into the hands of our frontline workers immediately.”

Trump addressed the Defense Production Act earlier in the day in a tweet.

“I only signed the Defense Production Act to combat the Chinese Virus should we need to invoke it in a worst case scenario in the future,” he tweeted, adding, “Hopefully there will be no need, but we are all in this TOGETHER!”

Trump has been accused of using racist rhetoric when calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” — which he defended during Wednesday’s press conference.