Thread by @albamonica

Pres. Trump invoked the Defense Production Act a week ago but there has been consistent confusion & mixed messaging on whether it is being utilized to produce medical equipment needed for the coronavirus pandemic. Private companies are doing so on their own, per the White House.

Trump tweet on March 18: "I only signed the Defense Production Act to combat the Chinese Virus should we need to invoke it in a worst case scenario in the future. Hopefully there will be no need, but we are all in this TOGETHER!"

Trump at briefing on March 19: "I've done it. Yeah, if we find that we need something, we will do that & you don't know what we've done. You don't know whether or not we've ordered. You don't know if we've invoked it. You don't know what's been ordered, what's not been ordered."

Trump at briefing on March 20: "I invoked the Defense Production Act, and last night, we put it into gear" and "We have a lot of people working very hard to do ventilators and various other things…. We are using it."

Trump to @KellyO at briefing on March 21: "If I don't have to use -- specifically, we have the act to use, in case we need it. But we have so many things being made right now by so many -- they've just stepped up."

FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor on @MeetThePress on March 22: "Yeah, so I think it's an insurance policy. Right? It's a lever. If we have to throw that lever we will… And so we haven't had to use it yet. Will we have to use it? Maybe."

Peter Navarro at briefing on March 22: "When you have a strong leader you can take a light hand initially. So what we've seen with this outpouring of volunteers from private enterprise, we're getting what we need without, without putting the heavy hand of government."

FEMA's Gaynor on CNN March 24: "Just a little while ago my team came in & we're actually going to use the DPA for the first time today. There’s some test kits we need to get our hands on... mask contracts that we have for the 500 million masks, DPA language will be in that today"

FEMA spokeswoman Lizzie Litzow on March 24: "At the last minute we were able to procure the test kits from the private market without evoking the DPA."

Trump tweet on March 24: "The Defense Production Act is in full force, but haven’t had to use it because no one has said NO! Millions of masks coming as back up to States."

Trump at briefing March 24: "Ford, 3M & General Electric Healthcare are making tremendous numbers, they’ve already started, of respirators ventilators & face shields...We didn't have to exercise or utilize the DPA in any way. The fact that we have it helps, but we didn't have to"

Governors and mayors of the hardest hit areas continue to call on the president to fully activate the DPA, and medical professionals have been the most outspoken on the desperate need for certain equipment and supplies.

Trump at briefing on March 25: "[Cuomo] thinks we're using very appropriately the Defense Production Act. And we are. We're using it where needed. It's a great point of leverage. It's a great negotiating tool... I don't have to use it very much at all." Key word there: leverage.

Trump at March 26 briefing: "We have actually used it on two minor occasions & then we can withdraw it but for the most part...we don't need it. We say: we need this, they say don't bother." To be clear: the admin says it hasn't used DPA to compel companies other than as leverage

When pressed by @dsupervilleap for specifics on these "two minor occasions," the president says "we will let you know" but doesn't offer details beyond that. This is another example of confusion caused when it comes to how exactly the DPA is being used right now.

Trump on Hannity March 26: “I haven’t had to use it.” (Reminder: earlier today at the briefing the president mentioned “two minor occasions” in which he might have utilized DPA but didn’t offer specifics)