Ledger · First term · № 113
'I'm saying officially right now, it is an emergency' — and then nothing
Never delivered“The opioid crisis is an emergency, and I'm saying officially right now, it is an emergency. It's a national emergency. We're going to draw it up and we're going to make it a national emergency.”
- Promised
- , Impromptu remarks to reporters at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club, ten days after his opioid commission urged a declaration
- Stated deadline
- “officially right now / papers being drawn up” → August 17, 2017
- Overdue by
- 9 years, 1 month as of September 22, 2026
- Re-promised
- 3 times with a fresh deadline
- Topic
- Health care
- Era
- First term
What happened
Nothing was signed. NPR reported on October 17, 2017 that 'in the more than two months since Trump made that pronouncement, no emergency declaration has been signed.' Senators Murkowski and Warren pressed him in writing on October 12. What eventually came on October 26 was a narrower 90-day public health emergency with no new money attached.