By Daniel Wilson

Law360 (April 6, 2020, 5:41 PM EDT ) Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged President Donald Trump on Monday to use the full scope of a wartime production law to help address the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting the use of a military "czar" to oversee the production and distribution of medical supplies.

Trump's use of the Defense Production Act, or DPA, to control the production of medical equipment has been "ad hoc," leading states to bid against each other for crucial supplies and hospital leaders to have to "hunt and peck" for needed equipment, the Senate minority leader said in a call with reporters.

"The White House has tried to paint a rosy picture, but here in New York at the epicenter of the crisis, so many people on the front lines tell me they don't have what they need," Schumer said. "We're sending our folks into battle with the coronavirus without the armor and equipment they need to defeat the enemy."

Governors, local officials and hospitals have all called for a national system for directing the production and distribution of medical supplies, and that system should be led by a senior military official with experience in large-scale logistics to ensure equipment quickly gets to where it is needed the most, according to Schumer.

The DPA "czar" should control the production and distribution not only of supplies directly related to the pandemic, but all medical supplies since some hospitals are running low on basic medicines, Schumer said. The expertise of Peter Navarro, the White House's current DPA policy coordinator, is in trade issues, and he is "frankly not up to the job," he added. 

Schumer suggested three recently retired military officers that the president should consider, including U.S. Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, U.S. Navy Adm. Sandy Winnefeld and Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek. But anyone with similar experience and stature could also fill the role, according to the senator.

"This is a massive undertaking, and the country needs an undisputed person who is organizing all facets of it," Schumer said. "Someone with experience, someone with strength, someone who will have the full authority of the president behind them. And the best place to find someone like this is the military." 

Selva is the former vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and head of U.S. Transportation Command. Winnefeld is also a former vice chief and head of U.S. Northern Command, which helps provide military support to address domestic issues, including emergencies and disasters. Harnitchek led the Defense Logistics Agency, which moves billions of dollars of military equipment around the world each year.

Schumer had initially floated the idea of a coronavirus czar to Trump last week, without putting forward any specific names. The president issued a scathing response Thursday, calling the proposal a "Democrat public relations letter" and Schumer a "bad senator."

Schumer said he spoke over the weekend to Vice President Mike Pence and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about his proposal. Although Meadows had argued that the current system for allocating medical supplies was working better than Schumer had suggested, Pence and Meadows had said they were "taking a serious look" at the proposal, according to Schumer.

The president has leaned on the DPA, a Korean War-era law, to direct General Motors to manufacture ventilators, acquire respirators from 3M Co. and secure virus testing kits. He has also sought to limit exports of personal protective equipment.

A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to questions Monday about Meadows' conversation with Schumer or its current stance toward the senator's proposal.

--Additional reporting by Alyssa Aquino and Dorothy Atkins. Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.