President Trump, in an about-face, on Friday announced that he will invoke the Defense Production Act to compel General Motors to ramp up its planned production of ventilators – even as the company said that it had already been planning to build as many as 200,000 of the breathing devices.
Trump said that the order will “require General Motors to accept, perform, and prioritize Federal contracts for ventilators." In a statement, he said the contracting process with the automaker was not moving quickly enough.
Trump had previously hesitated to invoke the Cold War-era act to direct industries to start making ventilators, respirators, face masks, and other medical equipment now in short supply due to the spread of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. However, he changed course Friday afternoon after unleashing an hours-long Twitter tirade at GM and its chief, Mary Barra – which itself came in the wake of an eyepopping New York Times report late Thursday that the president had abruptly scuttled a deal with GM for 80,000 ventilators.
Adding to the confusion, the president’s announcement came just hours after GM announced that it was already working with Ventec Life Systems, a medical device manufacturer, to secure the parts and assembly lines needed to make as many as 200,000 ventilators. Ventec will begin making the breathing devices at a GM factory in Indiana.
GM meanwhile said that it will start manufacturing surgical masks next week at its plant in Warren, Michigan. The automaker hopes to produce 50,000 masks a day in as soon as two weeks, and as many as 100,000 masks a day if needed. The plan is expected to put 1,000 automotive workers back to work, after having been forced out of work as GM and other automakers have idled their factories to slow the spread of coronavirus.
"Ventec, GM and our supply base have been working around the clock for weeks to meet this urgent need," GM said in a statement. "Our commitment to build Ventec’s high-quality critical care ventilator, VOCSN, has never wavered."
The president had previously indicated Friday afternoon that he would invoke the Defense Production Act, as he unleashed a remarkable string of Twitter attacks at GM and its chairman and CEO, Mary Barra.
The president’s diatribe began after the New York Times reported that Trump had backed out of a deal in which the Federal government would buy some 80,000 ventilators for about $1.5 billion.
Federal officials cited concerns that GM would not be able to deliver as many ventilators as it promised. However, even as they worried about having too few ventilators, officials also fretted that the federal government would end up with an excess of ventilators.
Trump also reportedly cited concerns about the deal’s cost, although the price-tag would have amounted to about $18,000 a ventilator — a mere fraction of the $2 trillion relief package that Congress approved this week, or roughly equivalent to 18 F-35 fighter jets.
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A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
