President Donald Trump announced that he will invoke the Defense Production Act to further ease the spread of coronavirus in the U.S.
The move is expected to make up for the scarcity of medical supplies and launch two hospital ships as the U.S. faces the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump regards himself as a wartime president amid the coronavirus crisis.
"I view it -- in a sense as a wartime president," Trump said after announcing he would be invoking the Defense Production Act, which took effect in 1950 to address production needs during the Korean War.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Defense Production act serves as "the primary source of presidential authorities to expedite and expand the supply of resources from the US industrial base to support military, energy, space and homeland security programs."
Based on an executive order, Trump will use the act to acquire "health and medical resources needed to respond to the spread of COVID-19, including personal protective equipment and ventilators."
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar may coordinate with other agency heads to determine "the proper nationwide priorities and allocation of all health and medical resources, including controlling the distribution of such materials ... in the civilian market, for responding to the spread of COVID-19 within the United States," according to the order.
Moreover, Azar will be in charge of government purchase orders and contracts related to COVID-19.
He also has the power to "adopt and revise appropriate rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement" Trump's executive order.
"I only signed the Defense Production Act to combat the Chinese Virus should we need to invoke it in a worst case scenario in the future," Trump tweeted. "Hopefully there will be no need, but we are all in this TOGETHER!"
Trump also announced that two hospital ships would be released in response to New York, which has been severely affected by the coronavirus.
"He is fully engaged on trying to help New York," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, describing the President's actions "creative' and "energetic."
