Trump Orders National Guard to Help in 3 Hard-Hit States

New York, California and Washington will get medical stations
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 22, 2020 8:58 PM CDT
Trump Orders National Guard to Help in 3 Hard-Hit States
The National Guard sets up tents to be used for coronavirus testing Saturday in a parking lot for FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The National Guard has been activated in the three states with the biggest coronavirus outbreaks, President Trump said Sunday, promising that more help will follow. The Guard will help build medical facilities in New York, California and Washington, the Hill reports. Eight medical stations with 2,000 hospital beds will be added in California, four stations with 1,000 beds in New York and several stations with 1,000 beds in Washington. Medical supplies and equipment—including masks, respirators and gowns—are on their way to the three states, Trump said, and should be there within days, per NBC. "We're dealing also with other states," Trump said at a White House briefing. "These states have been hit the hardest."

The federal government will pay all the costs of deploying the Guard, the president said. The three states are approved for major disaster declarations, which Trump said makes supplying the states smoother. The president has told states to acquire supplies on their own, saying the federal government would help fill the gaps—as "sort of a backup for the states," he said Sunday. But governors have complained that the federal government has outbid them at times for equipment. They've asked the administration for more help, including taking the lead in obtaining supplies and equipment. (More coronavirus stories.)

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