The full timeline of events

American companies sold more than $17.5 million worth of face masks, more than $13.6 million in surgical garments and more than $27.2 million in ventilators to China during the first two months of the year, far exceeding that of any other similar period in the past decade, according to the most recent foreign trade data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The White House and congressional intelligence committees were briefed on the scope and threat of the coronavirus in January and February, but President Donald Trump has not stopped exports of key medical equipment.

The CDC reported its first case in the United States on Jan. 20. Within the next two weeks, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had declared the disease a public health emergency.

> The U.S. exported more than $1.7 million worth of surgical masks to China in January alone - more than double the previous January. In February, shipments surged to $15.8 million, the data show.

> Jesse Wang, co-founder of LuggEasy, confirmed the surge of masks exports in February. His company exported 14,000 to 15,000 pounds of masks from the U.S. to China in early 2020 alone.

> More than 31.6 million surgical masks were shipped to China during the second month of the year, based on the trade data.

> The U.S. exported $11.4 million worth of the breathing machines to China in the first two month of last year compared with $27.2 million in the first two months of this year, just weeks before states and hospitals started begging the federal government to send them more.

> the U.S. sent anywhere from 540 to 1,360 ventilators to China in January and February alone.

> The U.S. Department of State also donated 17.8 tons of medical equipment to China in February. The mass donation included "masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials."

> The U.S. shipped more than $271,000 worth of protective garments, like surgical suits, to China in January - nine times more than the previous January, the data show. In February, those shipments reached $13.4 million.

> Jared Moskowitz, Florida's emergency management director, said his team started placing orders for respirators, masks, gowns and other supplies from private vendors more than a month ago but received only about 10% of what it ordered as of Thursday.

"I'm now hearing from distributors that foreign governments are showing up with cash at these factories and bumping everybody else down the line who had orders pending," Moskowitz told USA TODAY, referencing conversations with brokers who serve as supply chain middlemen.

"This is going to have to be looked at to figure out how we allowed a U.S. company, the maker of perhaps the most important pieces of personal protective equipment, to feed the globe but not their home country," Moskowitz said.

> "We're giving massive amounts of medical equipment and supplies to the 50 states," Trump said Wednesday. "We also are holding back quite a bit," he said, referring to ventilators that are being saved to meet peak demand. "We will fairly soon be at a point where we have far more than we can use, even after we stockpile for some future catastrophe, which we hope doesn't happen," Trump said. "We're going to be distributing to countries around the world. We'll go to Italy, we'll go to France, we'll go to Spain."

> (On March 18th,) Trump issued an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act that gives the federal government the power to force companies to produce medical equipment and fulfill needs related to national defense before any other contracts.

The language in the order also allows the administration to control distribution in civilian markets of "personal protective equipment and ventilators." It's not clear what the president will do with this authority.

> Earlier this week...Trump finally uses the DPA authority





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The GOP are now:

Guardians
Of
Pedophiles