Gov. John Bel Edwards to meet with President Trump Wednesday

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced he will travel to Washington, D.C. Wednesday, April 29 to meet with President Donald Trump to discuss the state’s response to COVID-19.

Louisiana currently has the fifth-highest per capita rate of cases in the nation, according to Gov. Edwards.

Gov. Edwards says he is one of a handful of governors that have been invited to meet one-on-one with President Trump.

Gov. Edwards issued the following statement about his upcoming trip to Washington:

“I look forward to having a substantive conversation with President Trump about Louisiana’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, our plans to re-open additional businesses next month, and our ongoing needs as we surge our testing capacity to 200,000 tests per month beginning in May. I am appreciative of the President’s attention to Louisiana and his support for our people during this difficult time for our state. Brighter days are ahead for Louisiana and by working together with our federal partners, I know we will get through this.

I will also thank the President and Vice President for the many ways the federal government has stepped up to help Louisiana as we have navigated the past few months, from millions of pieces of PPE, hundreds of ventilators, support for more than 1,000 members of the National Guard, field hospitals and Public Health Service teams, early support of mobile testing sites and access to federal health officials and other experts as we have made many critical, life-saving decisions for Louisianans."