Trump Gives U.S. Broad Control Over Health-Care Supply Chain (3)

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday giving the federal government broad powers to direct the production and distribution of health protective gear, ventilators and other supplies if the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. gets far worse.

As part of an emergency measure, the executive order lets U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar take priority over private contracts and agreements. The department could also get control over how needed health-care goods are distributed.

It’s not clear how extensively the government would use the powers outlined in the broadly-written order, or whether companies would start legal objections if ...