section_path: First presidency (2017–2021)/COVID-19 pandemic
section_name: COVID-19 pandemic
paragraph_text: COVID-19 pandemic
  
  Trump initially ignored public health warnings and calls for action from health officials within his administration. Trump established the White House Coronavirus Task Force on January 29. On March 27, he signed into law the CARES Act — a $2.2 trillion bipartisan economic stimulus bill — the largest stimulus in U.S. history. After weeks of attacks to draw attention away from his slow response, Trump halted funding of the World Health Organization in April. In April 2020, Republican-connected groups organized anti-lockdown protests against the measures state governments were taking to combat the pandemic; Trump encouraged the protests on Twitter, although the targeted states did not meet his administration's guidelines for reopening. He repeatedly pressured federal health agencies to take actions he favored, such as approving unproven treatments. In October, Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for three days with a severe case of COVID-19.