Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that the coronavirus pandemic presents “a great investment opportunity,” insisting that global markets spooked by the public health crisis will rebound eventually.

Said Mnuchin: “This is a short-term issue. It may be a couple of months, but we’re going to get through this, and the economy will be stronger than ever.”

H added: “You know, I look back at people who bought stocks after the crash in 1987, people who bought stocks after the financial crisis. For long-term investors, this will be a great investment opportunity.”

President Trump plans to declare a national emergency over the coronavirus outbreak at a news conference later today, invoking the Stafford Act to open the door to more federal aid for states and municipalities, Bloomberg reports.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who met and dined with President Donald Trump at his Florida resort over the weekend, tested negative for the new coronavirus, his official Facebook page announced, CNBC reports.

Earlier reports said he tested positive.

Garret Graff: “As congressional leaders sniped their way through the coronavirus crisis this week—wrestling with how to act and help avert a massive economic shock amid a quickly evolving tsunami of national closures, collapsing stock prices and a worsening pandemic—an even more ominous thought hung in the background of Capitol Hill: A pandemic, particularly one whose primary victims are over 60, presents the long-feared, worst-case scenario for Congress’ existence itself.”

“Since the end of World War II, efforts to force the House and Senate to confront how it would function in an emergency have stalled, and even the lackluster efforts after 9/11 to improve congressional continuity planning fell short of addressing the potential impact of a pandemic: While the outright death of senators and representatives poses its own unique set of problems for the body and democracy, an illness like COVID-19 that threatens to sicken a wide swath of members threatens to paralyze or destabilize the entire legislative branch of government when its quick action is most needed.”

James Hohmann: “President Trump declared a national emergency last February to divert billions that had been appropriated for the military to fund construction of his wall along the southern border. White House lawyers told Trump he could reprogram that money without the declaration. But the president was determined to announce a national emergency, we reported at the time, for fear of looking weak if he didn’t.”

“Thirteen months later, Trump has appeared afraid of looking weak if he does declare a national emergency to respond to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. He’s resisted a growing chorus of pleas from local leaders, as well as congressional Democrats, to declare a national emergency. Under the 1988 Stafford Act, this would enable the Federal Emergency Management Agency to take disaster-level action and free up billions in assistance for states and municipalities on the front lines of the pandemic.”

“Trump’s reluctance to claim executive power amid the gravest crisis of his presidency, when he’s had a penchant for doing so in less dire circumstances, is one of the more puzzling elements of what has been his administration’s muddled and confused response to the outbreak.”