Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asking Donald Trump to mobilize the Army Corps of Engineers to help with coronavirus response nationwide. Warren specifically wants the Army Corps to retrofit buildings to serve as treatment centers to free up hospital beds for the sickest patients.
“Given the reality of the exponential growth of the virus, supplemental infrastructure must be designated and ready to receive patients immediately,” Warren wrote in a letter going to Trump on Wednesday, Vox reports. “The Army Corps is in position to help address this public health emergency by converting existing space into temporary medical centers. Taking this action will save lives.”
Warren even has a suggestion on how to pay for the projects: She “supports taking DoD military construction funds previously diverted for wall construction and diverting them to supplement the federal government’s coronavirus response,” an aide told Vox.
Late Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed that the Army Corps of Engineers will be going to New York to help the effort there.