Trump Declares Opioid Crisis A ‘National Emergency’

President Donald Trump stands as he waits to bestow the nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor to retired Army medic James McCloughan during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 31, 2017. McCloughan is credited with saving the lives of members of his platoon nearly 50 years ago in the Battle of Nui Yon Hill in Vietnam. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
In this July 31, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump pauses during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Trump’s threat to stop billions of dollars in government payments to insurers and for... In this July 31, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump pauses during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Trump’s threat to stop billions of dollars in government payments to insurers and force the collapse of “Obamacare” could put the government in a tricky legal situation. Legal experts say he’d be handing insurers a solid court case, while undermining his own leverage to compel Democrats to negotiate, especially if premiums jump by 20 percent as expected after such a move. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) MORE LESS
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BEDMINSTER, New Jersey (AP) — President Donald Trump is officially declaring the opioid crisis a “national emergency.”

Trump made the announcement before holding a security briefing Thursday at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

He tells reporters the drug crisis afflicting the nation is a “serious problem the likes of which we have never had” and says he’s drawing up documents “to so attest.”

A drug commission convened by Trump recently called for a national emergency declaration to help deal with the opioid crisis.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price earlier this week seemed to suggest the president was leaning against the recommendation when he said the administration could deploy the necessary resources and attention without declaring a national emergency.

Still, Price stressed that “all things” were “on the table for the president.”

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