Pennsylvania governor in battle with counties pushing to reopen
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf threatens to withhold federal aid to counties that open prematurely; Republican State Sen. Scott Martin reacts.
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President Trump plans to be in Pennsylvania on Thursday, three days after asserting on Twitter that the state’s residents have grown frustrated with their Democrat governor’s coronavirus shutdown rules.
“The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now,” the president wrote Monday, “and they are fully aware of what that entails.”
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The scheduled trip also follows a protest in late April that saw hundreds of demonstrators gather outside the Statehouse in Harrisburg, where they called for Gov. Tom Wolf to loosen the state’s stay-at-home order.
Trump is scheduled to visit Owens & Minor Inc. in Upper Macungie Township, near Allentown, according to FOX 29 of Philadelphia. The company distributes medical equipment, which became a key commodity during the virus outbreak as the nation’s hospitals grappled with surges in patients.
The president is expected to speak about the nation’s efforts regarding coronavirus testing, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Pennsylvania is considered a key state as Trump looks ahead to the November election. He won the state by only 44,000 votes in 2016 over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Thursday’s trip will be his 18th visit to the state since taking office, The Morning Call of Allentown reported.
The president may also be looking to improve his job-approval numbers in Pennsylvania, where 45 percent of respondents support his handling of the coronavirus, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll.
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Trump is eager to revive the nation’s economy following quarantines and business shutdowns that have cost millions of Americans their jobs and brought what had been a record-shattering economy to a screeching halt.
“We will defeat this horrible enemy, we will revive our economy, and we will transition into greatness,” the president said Monday, according to Politico. “That’s a phrase you’re going to hear a lot because that’s what’s going to happen.”
Last week, Wolf extended his stay-at-home order to June 4 to parts of the state while saying he would allow 24 counties, mostly in the rural north-central region, to reopen businesses to some degree. He later added 13 western Pennsylvania counties to that list, FOX 29 reported.
But Pennsylvania Republicans and some business owners still accuse Wolf of moving too slowly, the report said.
On Monday, Wolf issued a warning to business owners who defy his orders.
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“To those politicians who decide to cave in to this coronavirus, they need to understand the consequences of their cowardly act,” Wolf said, according to FOX 29.
He also threatened to withhold state and federal funding from counties “that put us all at risk by operating illegally,” the report added.
A recent Federal Aviation Administration advisory calls for restricted airspace of 30 nautical miles around Lehigh Valley International Airport between 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., suggesting Trump will be visiting sometime during those hours, the Morning Call reported.
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