Mnuchin: Economy could reopen in May
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday endorsed an optimistic prediction that the U.S. economy might reopen in May, even as more Americans die from Covid-19 and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned against trying to return to normal too quickly.
During an appearance on CNBC, host Jim Cramer asked Mnuchin if he believed there was a possibility "if the doctors let us, that we could be open for business in the month of May."
"I do, Jim," Mnuchin said.
The comments from the Trump administration's top economic official come as other White House advisers press for commerce to resume quickly — an aim that appears to contradict more cautious messages coming from medical experts. Businesses across the country have closed their doors over the past month as the U.S. tried to slow the spread of the pandemic.
Mnuchin appeared on CNBC to tout a dramatic business lending program the Federal Reserve announced today to help boost the economy.
He said the administration was doing everything it could to ensure that "American companies and American workers can be open for business and that they have the liquidity that they need to operate their business in the interim."
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow has also said he believes the economy can open sooner than many predict, telling POLITICO on Tuesday that it was possible "in the next four to eight weeks."
Powell declined to weigh in on Mnuchin's prediction during a Brookings Institution event Thursday, saying it wasn't up to the Fed. But he said it was time for a "serious public conversation and a lot of analysis about that." Powell warned against a potential false start, where the country partially reopens and experiences another spike in coronavirus cases.
Powell said he believed a "robust" economic rebound was possible when the spread of the virus is under control.
"People will start to go back to movies, to theaters, they'll start to travel, and they'll gain confidence that it's OK to do so," he said. "That process can be a fairly short one, but at the beginning it will certainly be gradual and tentative."
