Trump considers sending Americans back to work in May
WASHINGTON, DC -- As the Easter weekend begins, President Donald Trump will not see the "packed churches" he envisioned last month.
But while he has not given a specific date calling for an "opening up" of the country, the focus of an economic task force being set up by the White House is to find ways to have a majority of the U.S. open once the current social distancing guidelines expire April 30, administration officials have told ABC News.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who sources say would be a key member of that still-unannounced task force, has said he "absolutely" thinks it's possible for some businesses to be back up and running in May.
Trump has continued to predict the country will quickly return to normal and bounce back like never before, but he has limited say in when and how that could begin. Many governors have instituted stay-at-home orders and other lockdowns until at least June.
And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top expert on infectious diseases, has cautioned that the virus dictates the timeline and warned that to "gradually" reopen the country widespread testing must be in place, so doctors can better identify, isolate and trace cases.
Asked about the need for nationwide testing in order to send Americans back to work, the president largely dismissed the question, touting the country's testing of two million people "a milestone anywhere," while saying that testing all 325 million Americans is impractical and "not gonna happen."
"We want to have it and we're going to see if we have it. Do you need it? No. Is it a nice thing to do? Yes," the president said.
As even Trump's allies reportedly question whether his daily briefings are hurting his campaign, and the president has appeared to cut back on how long he answers questions, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released Friday shows his approval for his handling of the crisis continues to be underwater for back-to-back weeks.
