The Pentagon and the White House, in the weeks leading up to the president's national emergency declaration on Friday, quarreled over the response to the coronavirus outbreak that was sweeping the country.

Defense Department leaders urged measures such as restricting troop travel in order to contain the virus. But other administration officials pushed back, arguing against any "rash" steps that could have political ramifications and economic impact, defense officials told POLITICO.

It wasn't until President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on March 13 that leaders began to coalesce around a strategy. Trump's comments served as a "green light" for DoD leaders to take more aggressive steps such as providing medical equipment, putting field hospitals on alert and making preparations to dispatch the military's twin hospital ships to virus hotspots, said the defense official.

tag