Names proposed for a new coronavirus task force to focus on reopening the economy include Ivanka Trump, as well as advisers such as Kevin Hassett and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Three insiders familiar with the plans say it will include leaders from the private sector and the sports and entertainment worlds, as well as administration officials.
President Trump has made clear his desire to lift social distancing restrictions as rapidly as possible in an effort to begin the business of rebuilding amid concerns that the small businesses and the voters that make up his base could be hardest hit.
Ivanka Trump would bring her expertise to the area of job training, said a former administration official, either on the task force or as an adviser.
“There will be people who won’t have a job to go back to,” said the former official. “The question is how they can train to get jobs at the big companies that come out of this.”
Trump’s original coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, is already considering how and when restrictions might be lifted. It includes a range of officials with expertise in science, economics, and logistics.
Hassett, the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers who recently returned to the White House to help with the coronavirus response, is among the names expected to be on the task force.
His successor, Larry Kudlow, who is also expected to be on the new task force, said there was no formal structure in place to gather advice on getting America back to work but that the president constantly sounded out contacts.
“The president is seeking guidance from everybody, inside and outside of government,” he told reporters.
The White House declined to comment on the potential makeup of a new task force or when it might be announced.
“President Trump’s policies took this economy to record-setting historic highs for all Americans, but this unforeseen, unprecedented crisis has hurt many workers and businesses,” said White House spokesman Judd Deere.
“The president wants to see this economy open again, so people can get back to work, but scientific data will drive the timeline on those decisions because his No. 1 priority is to protect the safety and well-being of the American people.”
