WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration sowed confusion on Tuesday over use of a 1950s-era emergency act to procure coronavirus test kits amid severe shortages of tests, masks, ventilators and other equipment for medical workers fighting the highly contagious disease.
Peter Gaynor, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told CNN the administration had decided to use the Defense Production Act to procure 60,000 coronavirus test kits, in what would mark the first use of the act to confront the coronavirus crisis.
But Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, said in comments on Fox News that it has not been necessary to put the emergency measure to use.
“Every time we’ve asked American industry to step forward, they’ve said ‘yes.’ No one has said ‘no,’” Pence said during a Fox News town hall.
In a statement late on Tuesday, FEMA said it did no