President Trump announced his intention to invoke the Defense Production Act to make swabs needed for coronavirus tests.
The president shared his decision on Sunday, telling reporters at a White House press conference, “We’re preparing to use the Defense Production Act to increase swab production in one U.S. facility by over 20 million additional swabs per month.”
“We’ve had a little difficulty with one, so we’re gonna call in — as we have in the past, as you know — we’re calling in the Defense Production Act, and we’ll be getting swabs very easily,” he added.
President Trump: “We’re preparing to use the Defense Production Act to increase swab production in one U.S. facility by 20 million additional swabs per month.” https://t.co/zJCPvL2MMO pic.twitter.com/FcSAS1sJhq
— ABC News (@ABC) April 19, 2020
Sources told CNN the company that will be compelled to make the swabs is Puritan Medical Products, which is based in Maine.
Swabs are among the key testing supplies for combating the COVID-19 virus that governors and health experts have said need to be increased. Hours before the briefing, Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam both pushed back on the administration’s claim that states have enough testing capacity to reopen their economies.
The president previously invoked the Defense Production Act to compel companies to make ventilators and face masks during the pandemic.
