President Donald Trump signed an order requiring General Motors to manufacture ventilators hours after a Twitter tirade in which he demanded the company repurpose facilities to produce ventilators, "NOW!!!!!!"
GM, in statements to media, said it's close to getting production started at an Indiana plant.
Trump, in a statement, said his order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to "use any and all authority available under the Defense Production Act to require General Motors to accept, perform, and prioritize Federal contracts for ventilators."
"Our negotiations with GM regarding its ability to supply ventilators have been productive, but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course. GM was wasting time.
Earlier on Twitter, Trump indicated that GM had scaled back expectations for the number of ventilators it could produce. He said the company initially promised to "give us" 40,000 "very quickly," but would now only produce 6,000 by late April and wanted "top dollar."
"Always a mess with Mary B. Invoke P.," Trump wrote, referring to GM president Mary Barra and the Defense Production Act.
General Motors MUST immediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW!!!!!! FORD, GET GOING ON VENTILATORS, FAST!!!!!! @GeneralMotors @Ford
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 27, 2020
GM denied the claims in statements to media. According to the Detroit News:
[GM and partner Ventec] have secured suppliers for the more than 700 parts needed. They intend to build up to 200,000 of Ventec's portable VOCSN ventilators with [the Kokomo, Indiana plant] producing 10,000 per month and possibly more.
GM said ventilators from the plant could begin shipping next month and that it was "donating its resources at cost."
Trump, on Twitter, also demanded Ford begin producing ventilators, "FAST!!!!"
The automaker provided the following update on its broader medical supply production efforts to the Free Press:
"We have started delivering tens of thousands of Ford-produced face shields to hospitals and police agencies, including the NYPD," [said Rachel McCleery, a spokeswoman for Ford's government affairs]. “Ford is pulling out all the stops to quickly and safely provide vitally needed equipment for patients, first responders and health-care workers."
"We have teams working flat-out with GE Healthcare to boost production of simplified ventilators, and with 3M to increase the production of powered air-purifying respirators. Ford is in active conversations with the administration, seeking guidance about approvals, scope and distribution relating to a series of products, including ventilators."
