U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would invoke the Defense Production Act if needed to ensure Americans are first in line for domestically produced coronavirus vaccines, although he added he did not think it would be necessary.
Trump delivered the remarks at the top of a White House summit on vaccine development and distribution just before signing an executive order intended to ensure that priority access for COVID-19 vaccines procured by the U.S. government is given to the American people before assisting other nations.
The executive order does not appear to have a clear enforcement mechanism, so Trump's suggestion that he could use the Defense Production Act was significant. The act, which was passed in 1950, grants the president the power to expand industrial production of key materials or products for national security and other reasons.
"If necessary ... we'll invoke the Defense Production Act, but we don't think it will be necessary. If it is, it's a very powerful act, as you know, because we've used it very, very successfully," he said.
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