Marc Short, who works as chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, denied Wednesday that there are forecasts predicting a 20% unemployment rate because of the coronavirus outbreak, disputing reports after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's meeting with GOP senators.
“Nobody is right now that I know forecasting a 20% unemployment from the coronavirus,” he told Fox Business's "Mornings With Maria." "The foundation of our economy remains incredibly strong. This is a short-term, we believe, challenge.”
However, Mnuchin reportedly told the lawmakers on Tuesday that if they did not take action on a proposed coronavirus rescue package, it could lead unemployment rates to soar to 20%.
Short, though, said Mnuchin was talking about a wide range of scenarios.
The administration is trying to make sure that the people who are most being impacted on the short term get the resources they will need.
"The foundation is strong," Short said, noting that President Donald Trump has said that the economy will bounce back quickly "once we get over the hump of this virus."
Short also said he thinks it is important to remind Americans that the risk to average people remains extremely low.
"This president took measures long before Europe did to protect us from travel from China, and then also put in place a travel ban from Europe, said Short. "And so Europe is a little bit behind that curve...what this administration is trying to do is a 15-day guideline to shorten the (coronavirus) duration and lower its impact. We are asking Americans to make significant sacrifices in order to help us accomplish that."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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