WASHINGTON — President Trump is expected to declare a national emergency at a news conference on Friday afternoon, a move that would give him authority to use $40 billion of funds allocated by Congress for disaster relief to address the coronavirus crisis. Mr. Trump, according to a senior administration official, is expected to invoke the Stafford Act, a law that empowers the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist state and local governments during “natural catastrophes” and coordinate the nation’s response. Mr. Trump has been hinting in recent days that he had been briefed on using the law to address the pandemic, and Democratic lawmakers like Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, have been pressing him to invoke it. Mr. Trump’s decision to employ the Stafford Act to address the coronavirus crisis was reported earlier by Bloomberg News.

Source: New York Times March 13, 2020 16:53 UTC