Gov. Little meets with President Trump, White House officials

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) – Governor Brad Little spent Thursday at the White House meeting with President Donald Trump and Trump administration officials.

They discussed topics including cutting government red tape to support America’s economic rebound and the availability of COVID-19 testing supplies for Idaho, Mountain Home Air Force Base.

The Governor’s schedule included:

• Regulatory Innovation and Cutting Red Tape Announcement – Governor Little joined President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other officials on the South Lawn of the White House to announce that the federal government and states across the country will ramp up efforts to streamline burdensome regulations that hinder economic development. Idaho’s success in cutting red tape serves as an example for other states and the federal government to follow. Idaho became the least-regulated state in the country during Governor Little’s first year as governor. The state cut and simplified 75-percent of rules in a matter of months. Additional regulatory changes in Idaho this year improved Idaho’s response to COVID-19 by increasing healthcare capacity and access to telehealth services.

• Meeting with U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) about COVID-19 – Governor Little had a productive meeting with leading infectious disease expert Dr. Tammy Beckham of HHS on COVID-19 testing capacity in Idaho. The HHS indicated additional swabs would be sent to Idaho today, following Governor Little’s request. Governor Little communicated Idaho’s testing needs as students return to school next month and as more Idahoans return to work. He expects to see an increase in the availability of testing supplies for Idaho following the meeting.

• Roundtable on State-Federal Regulatory Innovation and Cutting Red Tape – Governor Little joined state and federal officials in discussing how to achieve meaningful regulatory reductions to support America’s economic rebound. Participants included Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Larry Kudlow, Assistant to the President and director of the National Economic Council; Brooke Rollins, Assistant to the President and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council; Paul Ray, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs; Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, and other state and federal officials.

• Meeting with U.S. Treasury – Following a call with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Wednesday night, Governor Little met with Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury Dan Kowalski and White House staff about Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding and Idaho’s emphasis on using the funds to get Idahoans back to work and to support small business and public safety.

• Meeting with U.S. Air Force – Governor Little met with U.S. Air Force officials about strengthening the future of the Mountain Home Air Force Base.