TheWhite House Coronavirus Task Force was theUnited States Department of Statetask force during the firstTrump administration. The goal of the Task Force was to coordinate and oversee the administration's efforts to monitor, prevent, contain, and mitigate the spread ofcoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).^[1] Also referred to as thePresident's Coronavirus Task Force, it was established on January 29, 2020, withSecretary of Health and Human ServicesAlex Azar as chair.^[2] On February 26, 2020, U.S. vice presidentMike Pence was named to chair the task force, andDeborah Birx was named the response coordinator.^[3]

The task force was succeeded by the White House COVID-19 Response Team under theBiden administration.

The first known case in the United States of COVID-19 was confirmed in the state ofWashington on January 20, 2020, in a 35-year-old man who had returned fromWuhan, China on January 15.^[4] The White House Coronavirus Task Force was established on January 29, withSecretary of Health and Human ServicesAlex Azar as its chair.^[2] On January 30, theWHO declared aPublic Health Emergency of International Concern and on January 31, theTrump administration declared apublic health emergency,^[5] and placed travel restrictions on entry by non-citizens who had recently been in China.^[6] On February 26,U.S. vice presidentMike Pence replaced Azar as chair.^[3]

Member		Role	Appointment
	Mike Pence	Vice President of the United States Chair of White House Coronavirus Task Force	February 26, 2020[3]
	Deborah Birx	United States Global AIDS Coordinator White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator	February 26, 2020[3]
	Vice Admiral Jerome Adams	Surgeon General of the United States	February 26, 2020[3]
	Alex Azar	United States Secretary of Health and Human Services	January 29, 2020[2]
	Stephen Biegun	United States Deputy Secretary of State	January 29, 2020[2]
	Robert Blair	Senior Advisor to theWhite House Chief of Staff	January 29, 2020[2]
	Ben Carson	United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	March 1, 2020[7]
	Francis Collins	Director of theNational Institutes of Health	May 15, 2020[8]
	Ken Cuccinelli	Acting United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security	January 29, 2020[2]
	Kelvin Droegemeier	Director of theOffice of Science and Technology Policy	March 1, 2020[7]
	Thomas J. Engels	Administrator of theHealth Resources and Services Administration	May 15, 2020[8]
	Anthony Fauci	Director of theNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases	January 29, 2020[2]
	Admiral Brett Giroir	Assistant Secretary for Health	March 13, 2020[9][10]
	Joe Grogan	Director of theDomestic Policy Council	January 29, 2020[2]
	Stephen Hahn	Commissioner of Food and Drugs	March 1, 2020[7]
	Derek Kan	Executive Associate Director of theOffice of Management and Budget	January 29, 2020[2]
	Larry Kudlow	Director of theNational Economic Council	February 26, 2020[3]
	Chris Liddell	White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Coordination	January 29, 2020[2]
	Peter Marks	Director of theCenter for Biologics Evaluation and Research	May 15, 2020[8]
	Steven Mnuchin	United States Secretary of the Treasury	February 26, 2020[3]
	Robert C. O'Brien	National Security Advisor	January 29, 2020[2]
	Sonny Perdue	United States Secretary of Agriculture	May 15, 2020[8]
	Matthew Pottinger	Deputy National Security Advisor	January 29, 2020[2] Resigned January 2021[11]
	Robert R. Redfield	Director of theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention	January 29, 2020[2]
	Eugene Scalia	United States Secretary of Labor	May 15, 2020[8]
	Joel Szabat	Acting Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy	January 29, 2020[2]
	Seema Verma	Administrator of theCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services	March 2, 2020[12]
	Robert Wilkie	United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs	March 2, 2020[12]

The task force reviewed all coronavirus-related actions by federal agencies, and overruled theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) several times.^[13][14]The New York Times reported that the CDC's leadership has been criticized during the pandemic, for mismanaging the testing kit rollout and changing its guidance on transmission of the virus; the White House says it is following the science in overruling the CDC.^[14] In March 2020, the task force deployed a team to cope with test kit shortages across the country, overseen byBrett Giroir, recognizing that the shortages were a serious threat to the country.^[15]

Pete Gaynor, the administrator of theFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was involved^[16] and stated that the task force had directed FEMA to shift in March "from playing a supporting role in assisting the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, which was designated as the initial lead federal agency for the COVID-19 pandemic response, to coordinating the Whole-of Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic".^[17]

Peter Navarro was named in March theDefense Production Act policy coordinator for the federal government.^[18] The Defense Production Act gives the President broad powers to control manufacturing during emergencies.^[19] Navarro criticized the CDC for the testing problems,^[20] and has also criticized Fauci;^[19] critics likeChuck Schumer say Navarro is unqualified for the job.^[19]

Operation Warp Speed was initiated in early April to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution ofCOVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics^[21][22][23] after a round-table meeting with Trump, Pence and industry executives at the White House on March 2.^[24]

On September 29, the task force overruled the CDC's recommendation regarding whenpassenger cruise ships should be allowed to resume sailing. The CDC wanted to extend the existing "no-sail" directive until February 2021, but the task force agreed with the cruise ship industry's recommendation that the prohibition end on October 31, 2020.^[14] Two unnamed federal health officials toldThe New York Times that on October 9 the task force rejected a proposed CDC order requiring passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of public and commercial transportation in the United States, including airplanes, trains, buses, subways, and transit hubs. A federal mask mandate was supported by some airlines and the transportation worker unions; the task force said that such orders should be left up to states and local governments.^[13]

On March 10, 2020,The Hill reported thatU.S. SenateRepublicans who had attended a briefing withPresidentDonald Trump had encouraged him to hold more briefings and to makeAnthony Fauci the "face of the federal government's response" because according to an unnamed senator, "he has credibility", he "speaks with authority" and he "has respect in the medical community".^[25] The role ofHealth and Human Services secretaryAlex Azar was downsized, according toThe Wall Street Journal, with Pence taking a larger role.^[26]

The Task Force livestreamed press briefings atwhitehouse.gov to communicate updates, guidelines, and policy changes to the public during theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States.^[27][28][29] On March 16, the White House began holding the task force press briefings daily,^[30] often two hours long,^[31] but by late April the White House discussed reducing the frequency of these briefings. On April 25, there was no press briefing, and at that time no further press briefings had been scheduled.^[32][33] On May 5, Pence said that the administration was discussing "what the proper time is for the task force to complete its work"; the next day, Trump said that the task force would "continue on indefinitely" but would refocus on returning the nation to normal activity.^[34]

As the US entered a new phase of re-opening businesses and getting back to work, Pence named five new members to the task force on May 15, 2020.^[8] The task force gave a press briefing on May 15, and on May 22,^[35] Birx appeared with press secretaryKayleigh McEnany. For the rest of May and into June, the task force met once or twice weekly, behind closed doors, as the White House switched to an economic message.^[36] The task force gave another press briefing on July 8.^[37] Fauci said on July 10 that he had not given a briefing to Trump for two months, and had not seen him in person since June 2.^[38]

This article is part of a series about Donald Trump
Business and personal Age and health Business career The Trump Organization wealth tax returns cryptocurrency American Civil War Conspiracy theories Early life and education Endorsements Eponyms Fascism False or misleading statements first term between terms second term Family Foundation grants American football Golf Honors John McCain comments Legal affairs indictments Makeup Media career The Apprentice bibliography filmography Musk feud Nicknames Public image in popular culture in music SNL parodies baby balloon dance handshakes pseudonyms Racial views antisemitism Religion Residences Rhetoric Security incidents Sexual misconduct allegations Epstein ties Social media TikTok controversy Twitter Voters Obama Sanders 45th and 47th President of the United States Presidencies first second Inaugurations first second Portraits Presidential library Tenure Timeline 2016 Transition 2017 First 100 days Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2018 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2019 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2020 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2021 Q1 2024 Transition 2025 First 100 days Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Executive actions Executive orders First term Second term Proclamations Pardons First term Second term Trips 2017 Riyadh summit 2018 Singapore Summit Helsinki Summit 2019 Hanoi Summit United Kingdom state visit DMZ Summit 2020–21 Namaste Trump 2025 Middle East visit Alaska Summit United Kingdom state visit Gaza peace summit Budapest Summit International Shutdowns January 2018 2018–2019 2025 Speeches State of the Union Address 2018 2019 2020 Joint address to Congress 2017 2025 Oval Office Address 2019 2020 Farewell address 2021 Public speeches 2017 speech in Warsaw 2017 National Scout Jamboree Opinion polls First term 2017 2018 2019 Second term Legal affairs First term Second term Protests Federal law enforcement deployment St. John's Church photo op No Kings protests June 2025 October 2025 2020 presidential election overturning attempts January 6 Capitol attack Timeline Reactions Domestic International Aftermath Fake electors plot Eastman memos Jeffrey Clark letter Pre-election lawsuits Post-election lawsuits Texas v. Pennsylvania Policies Domestic First Term Second Term Economy First Term tax cuts tariffs USMCA farmer bailouts Second Term One Big Beautiful Bill Act tariffs China Canada and Mexico Liberation Day TACO Environment Paris Agreement withdrawal America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 Foreign policy First Term Syria strikes 2017 2018 Kosovo–Serbia agreements Second Term Russian invasion of Ukraine Putin phone call Saudi Arabia summit Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting minerals agreement peace talks Putin summits Alaska Budapest White House multilateral meeting on Ukraine Peace plan for Ukraine Armenia–Azerbaijan agreement Kuala Lumpur accord America First American expansionism Greenland Proposed Venezuela invasion Afghanistan Afghanistan withdrawal Taliban deal Iran First Term nuclear deal withdrawal Second Term Iran negotiations Iran–Israel war June 2025 strikes Iran–Israel war ceasefire Iraq Soleimani Israel First Term Jerusalem recognition Golan Heights recognition Palestine peace plan Abraham Accords Second Term Gaza Strip takeover proposal Gaza peace plan Saudi Arabia 2017 arms deal Syria al-Baghdadi Immigration First Term Second Term travel ban border wall family separation policy migrant detentions deportation troop deployments national emergency Infrastructure Social issues First Step Act cannabis Space First Term Second Term COVID-19 pandemic Taskforce Communication Government response stimulus bills CARES Act Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Operation Warp Speed Interference with science agencies Targeting of political opponents and civil society Trumpism Appointments ( first second ) Cabinets first second Ambassadors first second Federal judges lower courts Supreme Court candidates Gorsuch Kavanaugh Barrett Executives first second U.S. Attorneys first second Presidential campaigns 2000 primaries 2016 election primaries endorsements rallies Las Vegas incident convention debates foreign policy Make America Great Again Never Trump movement people Access Hollywood tape wiretapping allegations Spygate 2020 election primaries endorsements political non-political opposition rallies convention debates GOP reactions to election fraud claims Raffensperger phone call 2024 election primaries endorsements opposition eligibility Agenda 47 rallies convention debates assassination attempts PA perpetrator photographs FL perpetrator Impeachments Efforts resolutions First impeachment Zelenskyy phone call Ukraine scandal House inquiry Senate trial Second impeachment Capitol attack Senate trial Proposed expungements Legal proceedings 2020 election federal indictment Classified documents federal indictment Special counsel investigation FBI investigation FBI Mar-a-Lago search Trump v. United States New York prosecution Stormy Daniels scandal New York investigations Georgia election indictment Georgia election investigation mug shot
v t e

• Scott Atlas, advisor to the task force
• John Fleming, assistant to the President for Planning and Implementation, and liaison toWhite House Chief of Staff
• Olivia Troye, former top aide to the White House Coronavirus Task Force
• Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups
• COVID-19 Advisory Board
• White House COVID-19 Response Team

Wikiquote has quotations related toWhite House Coronavirus Task Force.

• "Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-2019)". U.S. Department of State.

• 2020 establishments in the United States
• 2021 disestablishments in the United States
• National responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Task forces established for the COVID-19 pandemic
• U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• United States Department of State
• United States presidential task forces
• First presidency of Donald Trump

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from June 2020
• Articles with hCards