Illinois governor on testing assistance: ‘I’ve given up’ on any federal promises

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said he has “given up” on promises for coronavirus aid from the federal government amid an escalating feud between him and President Trump. 

“We’ve gotten very little help from the federal government,” Pritzker said on CNN. “It’s fine. I’ve given up on any promises that had been made. I hope something will get delivered from the federal government, but I don’t expect it anymore.” 

Pritzker has pleaded with the federal government for additional aid as Illinois deals with a burgeoning number of coronavirus cases.

He and Trump have engaged in a prolonged back-and-forth that has been characterized by a fierce disagreement over the White House’s efforts to combat the virus’s spread. 

“There’s no way that we can stockpile in anticipation of a pandemic that no one anticipated, and yet the federal government is responsible for doing precisely that,” Pritzker said earlier this month.

“There is a governor, I hear him complaining all the time, Pritzker. He is always complaining,” Trump fired back at a press conference before listing off a number of projects the federal government was assisting with in the state. “Like in Illinois, the governor couldn’t do his job, so we had to help him.”

“It’s a good thing that the President finally recognized that it’s the Constitution that authorizes the governors to have the power to reopen their states… so I appreciate that,” says Illinois @GovPritzker.

We will “focus on the safety and health of the people of our states.” pic.twitter.com/kNoOZYLHJX

— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) April 14, 2020

Pritzker said Tuesday that the government should prioritize expanding testing and providing personal protective equipment (PPE).

“The most important thing that we’ll do is focus on the safety and health of the people of our states. In my case, you know, I’ve made it clear, we need testing, tracing, contact tracing and we need a treatment. Put that together with readily available PPE, and then you can start to talk about how you will reopen an economy,” he said. 

Illinois has had more than 23,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 860 deaths.