To cancel, then reschedule in federal government, you go through the scheduler, who is under direction of the Chief of Staff, which means there exists intraoffice communication and interoffice communication policy, along with handy dandy desk manuels.
So, for Emergency Manager Emperor Pence to claim he was unaware of the complete and utter chaos reshuffling an executive schedule, as POTUS is marked to the minutes and seconds, is nothing but a public shaming by Trump to show the Procurement Consortia Task Force is a hot mess.
What, Staff are not texting between offices, anymore?
Trump cancels, then re-reschedules trip to CDC after coronavirus scare
Trump will visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday as the coronavirus outbreak escalates.
President Donald Trump abruptly canceled and then re-scheduled a Friday visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta as the coronavirus outbreak escalates.
Trump told reporters early Friday morning that the trip was initially scrapped because of a suspected coronavirus case at the CDC itself. After the case turned out to be negative, the trip was re-scheduled.
The last-minute change sent Trump's aides scrambling to rearrange his schedule and respond to questions about the trip. Even Vice President Mike Pence, who Trump tapped with leading the administration's response to the outbreak, appeared to be unaware of the change late Thursday.
Trump’s schedule Friday, which had been released publicly at nearly midnight, no longer listed the trip to Atlanta. It showed the president flying to the Nashville area following a series of deadly tornadoes there, and then onto Florida, where he is scheduled to spend three nights at his south Florida retreat, Mar-a-Lago.
Trump says CDC visit may happen after official said it was canceled
"They thought there was a problem at CDC with somebody that had the virus," Trump told reporters Friday morning. "It turned out negative so we are seeing if we can do it. They've tested the person fully and it was a negative test. So I may be going. We're going to see if they can turn it around with Secret Service. We may be going."
The reveal surprised CDC staffers, including those preparing for Trump’s visit. They had not been previously informed about the suspected case of coronavirus at the agency, said three individuals with knowledge of the situation.
Asked about the potential coronavirus case and whether staff was briefed, the health department declined to comment.
“CDC has many employees who have deployed in support of the nation’s response to COVID-19, some of whom are returning from areas where COVID-19 may present,” a spokesperson said, using the formal name for the coronavirus, adding that CDC staff are undergoing appropriate self-quarantine and testing measures. “No CDC employees have tested positive.”
Earlier on Friday, a White House official confirmed the president's visit had been scrapped but for a different reason. “The CDC has been proactive and prepared since the very beginning and the president does not want to interfere with the CDC’s mission to protect the health and welfare of their people and the agency,” the official said.
As of Thursday evening, the White House was communicating that the president's trip to Atlanta was still on. At around 9 p.m. Eastern time, on a trip to Washington state, where coronavirus deaths reached double digits this week, Pence announced that Trump would sign an $8 billion coronavirus funding bill during his CDC trip.
Pence did not mention a potential case at CDC headquarters, even though Trump later said the administration had learned about it on Thursday afternoon.
“We are making progress,” Pence said at his news conference in Tacoma, Washington. “As I mentioned, federal assistance was approved by the United States Senate. President Trump is expected to sign the legislation tomorrow as he visits the CDC in Atlanta.”
Ultimately, Trump signed the $8.3 billion emergency funding package at the White House just before 9 a.m. in a hastily arranged ceremony. Journalists had already gathered outside on the South Lawn awaiting the president’s departure from the White House to Nashville when Trump aides moved some of them inside for the bill signing. “We’ve signed the 8.3 billion," he said. "I asked for two and a half and I got 8.3 and I’ll take it.”
Trump has made a point to talk about coronavirus regularly but he has largely continued with his normal schedule. He spoke at a campaign rally Monday in Charlotte and a Fox New town hall in Scranton, Pa. on Thursday, where he defended his handling of the outbreak.
Trump specifically praised Pence and CDC and bragged about the praise he said the administration has received for its response. "We've done a great job," he said. "Again, we've gotten the highest poll numbers of anybody for this kind of a thing."
The CDC has been under fire in recent days for delays in testing due to earlier problems with its diagnostic tests and initial criteria limiting who should be tested. The agency says it has since fixed the problem with its test and broadened who can be tested, though experts worry the delays have already hindered the ability to detect community spread.
Trump officials have assured states that the CDC is sending enough test kits to test 75,000 people. Private companies are also expected to dramatically boost the amount of test kits on the market, though there are still questions about whether there are enough laboratories and staff to test a large surge of samples. Experts say the U.S. won’t likely be able to meet testing demands for several weeks.
More than 200 cases have been confirmed across 20 states so far and at least 12 people have died. Public health officials say they expect more cases as more people are tested in the coming days.
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