Pence tries to project calm as virus response coordinator

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence moved Thursday to project calm in the role of chief coordinator of the government's response to the new coronovirus, as the Trump administration rushed to contain mounting public concerns and steep stock market declines.

Pence convened his first meeting of the Coronavirus Task Force one day after President Donald Trump made him the government's point-person for the epidemic. He named a seasoned medical professional as his chief adviser on the response and said Trump had “tasked us to take every step necessary to protect the health of the American people."

It came amid confusion over who was leading the inter-agency coordinating process to confront the virus. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar stood side-by-side with Trump on Wednesday when the president announced that he was putting Pence “in charge” of the government's response to the virus. At the end of the briefing, Azar said he was “delighted” to have the vice president's help, but also said he wanted to “clarify" that ”I'm still chairman of the task force."

Pence explained things differently Thursday. “I'm leading the task force," he said, though noted Azar would still hold the title of chairman.

Until now, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney had the role of coordinating the response across the government outside of the health care agencies. Facing questions about the new organizational chart from lawmakers Thursday, Azar said Pence would now fill that role.

Administration aides insisted there was no daylight between the two men, noting that Pence had scheduled the first meeting to be held at HHS, rather than at the White House.

Ahead of his first task force meeting, Pence made an appearance at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he promised “we will...