Whitmer glad Trump invoked DPA over ventilators, says GM ready to start - PBS NewsHour
Not being a Michigander I am not familiar with her, though being attacked by Whiny Donny is a badge of honor.
But she appeared on PBS NewHour. What calm, what confidence, what knowledge.
Wish all governors were like her.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/whitmer-glad-trump-invoked-dpa-over-ventilators-says-gm-ready-to-start
Follow is the transcript, but viewing the 7.5 min video, with Whitmer joining at the 2:35 mark is amazing.
(snip)
Amna Nawaz:
One way to get ventilators to hospitals faster would be if President Trump fully invoked the Defense Production Act. He's been reluctant to do it, until today, this afternoon requiring General Motors to prioritize federal contracts for ventilators.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is among those appealing to the Trump administration for more ventilators and additional critical supplies. She's a Democrat. And she joins me now from East Lansing.
Governor Whitmer, welcome to the "NewsHour."
As we talk today, I should mention your state has just seen the biggest single-day increase in cases, more than 800 over the last day. You will likely need more of those ventilators.
And the president, which we just mentioned, is going to ask GM to make more of them, so you can get them sooner. What's your response to that?
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer:
Well, I'm glad for it, to be honest. I think that every state in the nation is confronting what Michigan is right now, maybe not as fiercely as we are in the moment, but it's coming across this nation.
We are seeing hospitals that are to capacity already. And we're just days into this. We're going to continue to see this climb. And we know that, with COVID-19, there being no vaccine, no cure, how contagious and deadly it is, that there will be a massive need for ventilators across the country.
And so the Defense Production Act is something that was relied on during the — World War II. We were the arsenal of democracy right in Michigan. And ramping up and producing is going to be very important.
And so I know that the leadership at General Motors is tough and ready to take this on. But we need to all be in this and do our part.
Amna Nawaz:
Let me ask you to clarify some numbers, if you can, on the ventilators, because there's been a lot of confusion around this.
How many do you have? How many do you need? And have you gotten any from the federal government so far?
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer:
Well, we have been working incredibly hard to make sure that we have got ventilators, that we are bringing ventilators that had been retired. We're revamping them and bringing them back online.
We know that, no matter how many we have, we're going to need more.
Amna Nawaz:
Do you know what that need is in Michigan?
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer:
We're going to — we're going to need thousands.
I mean, at this point, we are trying to mitigate how many people get sick from COVID-19. And that's why we have been so aggressive in terms of our stay-at-home orders and pulling kids out of school. So that's part of the challenge here.
There's not enough data, because there's not enough testing. And so modeling shows us that anywhere between a million or less people will need to be hospitalized at some point in Michigan, if we're not really aggressive now. And that's what's driven the decisions we have made.
But we know that we have got to continue to ramp up. There are not enough ventilators, so no matter what the number is today, for the need that we anticipate tomorrow and the days coming, as this continues to grow in my state.
More at the link