AP Photo/Paul Vernon, File
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine
- Trump said he wants the economy back up and running by Easter, despite his top health experts' warning the U.S. will need to maintain social distancing for "several weeks" to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
- Several governors aren't following the president's assessment - including some Republicans.
- "Some of the messaging coming out of the administration doesn't match," said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who reportedly once considered a primary challenge against Trump.
- Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine has told residents they will need to adjust to "new reality that we have to live under."
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President Donald Trump has signaled an impatience for the U.S. economy to reopen soon, preferably by Easter, as the measures taken to restrict the spread of the coronavirus has led to surges in unemployment claims and dives in the stock market.
But it's actually governors who have the legal authority to make these decisions. As the number of reported cases in the U.S. tops 50,000 and continues to climb, several of them don't seem to be following the president's timeline at all - including some of Trump's fellow Republican executives.
The degree to which states have imposed restrictions on their businesses and citizens remains a patchwork, according to a tally by The New York Times.
Mississippi's Republican Governor Tate Reeveson issued an executive order Thursday that superseded local and municipal orders about which businesses were deemed "essential." Texas' Republican Governor Greg Abbott has thus far resisted issuing a statewide stay-at-home order, and his Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick implied that senior citizens might be willing to sacrifice their safety to restart the economy.
But some prominent Republican state executives such as Larry Hogan of Maryland and Mike DeWine of Ohio have defied the president's assertions that America will "soon be open for business," in contradiction to what his own top health experts have recommended. Rather, these governors have shuttered non-essential businesses, ordered people to stay home and limit their outings, and bluntly informed their residents that they might be in this for the long haul.
"We can't ... rely on the federal government to act."
Hogan has been especially aggressive in his response to the coronavirus, and blunt about the possible length of the crisis. On March 23, he ordered all non-essential businesses in the state to close and told residents to stay at home and avoid groups of more than 10 people.
"We can't wait for or rely on the federal government to act," Hogan said on Monday.
Hogan, who reportedly had considered a primary challenge to Trump last year, has not held back his criticism of how Trump has handled the coronavirus outbreak, even as he called for a presidential disaster declaration that would send funding to the state.
"Some of the messaging is pretty confusing," Hogan told CNN on Tuesday. "It's not just it doesn't match with what we're doing here in Maryland. Some of the messaging coming out of the administration doesn't match."
He added, "We don't think that we're going to be in any way ready to be out of this in five or six days or so, or whenever this 15 days is up from the time that they started this imaginary clock."
DeWine told Ohioans last week that they would need to "come up with a routine for how you want to live that is consistent with the new reality that we have to live under."
"We will be doing this for a while," he conceded.
On Sunday, DeWine officially issued a stay-at-home order that will remain in effect until April 12.
Other Republican governors are telling their residents to stay home
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb ordered the state's residents to stay stay home beginning on March 25, because "the next two weeks are critical if we are to slow the spread of COVID-19."
Meanwhile, for the next 21 days, Idaho residents will need to stay at home unless conducting essential activities like getting groceries or exercising near their home, as a result of of orders from Gov. Brad Little.
Read more:
Get the latest coronavirus analysis and research from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is impacting businesses.
This battle is going to be much harder, take much longer, and be much worse than almost anyone comprehends. We have never faced anything like this ever before, and I continue to urge the people of our state to stay in place at home and stay safe.
- Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) March 26, 2020