Trump: I’ll use emergency powers to let government marshal private sector

DONALD TRUMP has announced he will invoke emergency powers that allow the US government to marshal the private sector in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Trump, describing himself as a “wartime president”, said he was employing the Defence Production Act “in case we need it” as the government bolsters resources for an expected surge in cases.

He also said he will expand the nation’s testing capacity and deploy a navy hospital ship to New York City, which is rapidly becoming the US epicentre of a worldwide pandemic. A second ship will be deployed to the West Coast.

The president also said the Housing and Urban Development Department will suspend foreclosures and evictions until April as a growing number of Americans face losing jobs and missing rent and mortgage payments.

The announcements came on a fast-moving day of developments. The Senate was taking up a financial aid package while the administration pushed forward its economic relief plan, which propose $500 billion in payments to millions of Americans, with the first cheques to come on April 6 if Congress approves the plan.

Mr Trump and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau jointly announced that the US-Canada border would be closed, except for essential personnel and for trade.

The US president dismissed talk from his own Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, who suggested the nation could face 20 per cent unemployment at least in the short term.

That’s an “absolute total worst case scenario”, Mr Trump said.