Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2020

June 26, 2020

[*The President joined the meeting in progress.*]

The President. Nice to see you. Thank you very much. Busy time.

Adviser to the President Ivanka M. Trump. Absolutely.

The President. We're making a lot of progress with the whole situation that came in from a place called China, as you probably know. You probably see. But we have a little work to do, and we'll get it done. We're having some very good numbers coming out in terms of the comeback, the comeback of our Nation. And I think it's going very rapidly, and it's going to be very good.

But right now we're in that process of building.

And it's an honor that you're with us today. We very much appreciate it. I'm delighted to welcome members of the Workforce Policy Advisory Board. And I want to thank Ivanka; she works very hard on this Board. She works very hard to get jobs. And it's "Made in the U.S.A." and jobs in the U.S.A.

I saw a group of your people yesterday, having to do with ships. You're involved in that partnership, and it's fantastic, what they're doing in Wisconsin. It was really a great day.

The Secretary of Treasury is with us, and he's worked very hard, and I think he's got some very good things to say and some pretty big news.

And Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Labor Gene Scalia, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and Small Business Administratorâwho has definitely kept busyâ Jovita. Where is Jovita? Jovita. Good. Jovita Carranza.

Thanks also to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who's done terrifically. Kimâhi, Kim.

Governor Kimberly K. Reynolds of Iowa. Good to see you.

The President. Nice to see you. Thank you very much.

And Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana. And we always recognize Eric because he'sâhow tall are you, Eric? [*Laughter*] Littleâhe's a pretty tall guy. Right? But we have one that's a little taller. You know where that is? Alaska. You know that, right? You're doing a great job. We appreciate it.

As well as the CEOs who have signed our Pledge to American Workers: Marillyn Hewsonâ thank you very muchâof Lockheed Martin; Sebastian Thrun of Udacity; and Ginni Rometty of IBM. I want to thank you all. You've been really here from the beginning, very much from the beginning, and we appreciate it very much.

Together we built the greatest economy in historyâand literally, in the history of the world. Greatest we've ever had. The greatest the world has ever seen. And now we have to bring it back because we had to close in order to save millions of lives. We added 2.5 million jobs last month, which was incredible. A numberâthe largest monthly increase in history and more than double the previous record.

So we're bringing it back. We had the greatest ever, and we had to close it, and now we bring it back. And we start off with 2.5 million jobs in 1 month; I would say that's pretty good, Marillyn. Right? That's the highest ever done. And then, likewise, retail sales surged by nearly 18

percent last month. That was the biggest jump ever recorded. So that's great. The stock market is seeingâyou go back a week, 1 week. It's theâsaw the best 50 days in its historyâbest 50-day increase in the history of the stock markets.

Our Pledge to America's Workers has secured commitments to over 16 million job and training opportunities from employers nationwide. And some of the employers are with us, and they've been fantastic.

I want to thank the American people for doing such an incredible job. They understand what's happening, and they see how fast we're turning it around. I want to just state that this is Americans of all backgrounds that we're talking about, to have the chanceâwe want to get them the chance to learn and to build a successful career. We want to train Americans and we want to hire Americans. So we're training American, and we're hiring American.

Before the pledgeâand this is a very big factor. I mean, we have a problem that has about 22 different names, but I'll just call it "the plague." But before the plague struck, we had the lowest African American and Hispanic American, Asian American unemployment ever. We had the most jobs we've ever had, almost 160 million jobs. We've never been in a position like that. Women were thriving. Best numbers ever. And since my election, more than half of those jobsâ more than half; first time that's ever happenedâwent to women. But now we want to get that all back.

The African American group got hit very hard. The Hispanic American group got hit very hard. Essentially, all groups got hit hard, but now it's all coming back.

To further expand opportunity, I'm taking a bold action to reform the Federal workforce.

Today I'll sign an Executive order that directs the Federal Government to replace outdatedâand really outdatedâit's called "degree-based hiring"âwith skill-based hiring. So we want it based on skill.

The Federal Government will no longer be narrowly focused on where you went to school, andâbut the skills and the talents that you bring to the job. We want that skill to be there. We want it based on merit. We've looked at merit for a long time, and we've been able to get that done.

And today's signing is a very, very important one. I think maybe before I sign, I'll ask Ivanka to say a few words. And then, we'll go around a little bit, we'll pick a few people, and then we'll sign, and we go back to work. Thank you very much.

Ivanka.

Adviser to the President Ivanka M. Trump. Thank you, Mr. President. It's an honor to have you here. We just convened our sixth meeting of our Workforce Advisory Board, and we got an update on the team's response to your bold call to action.

[*At this point, Adviser to the President Ivanka M. Trump continued her remarks, concluding as follows.*]

So with more people teleworking and learning from home than ever before, we have a lot to accomplish in the months ahead, and I'm really excited about your effort to extend this working group and to reform our Federal hiring practices, as we think about building that inclusive American economy as we transition to greatness.

So thank you for today. And it's a pleasure to have you join us.

The President. Great. Thank you very much, honey. Great job. It really has been. It's been a labor of love.

Adviser to the President Ivanka M. Trump. That's true.

The President. And Ivanka loves helping people. It's a wonderful thing. Marillyn, how about starting with you? Thank you.

Lockheed Martin Corp. Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Marillyn A. Hewson. Well, thank you, Mr. President. It's really an honor to serve on this Policy Board. And I must say, I agree with you: Adviser TrumpâIvanka Trumpâand Secretary Ross have led us well. We've had a great effort over the last several meetings and put forward some strong recommendations that I helped to match the skills together with the jobs that are there. And at Lockheed Martin, we're proud that this year we're on a path to hire 12,000 people. And a lot of it is around making sure that we are getting the kind of apprenticeships and scholarships and skills training for them so that they can link up to jobs in our operation.

Thank you.

The President. Well, you've done a great job. And I got to see it again. I mentioned it; it was so impressive what I saw, the whole group yesterday. It was really great to be there. And I didn't know you had a big chunk of that one, but you've done very well with it, so we appreciate it.

Please, Sebastian. Please.

Udacity Founder and Executive Chairman Sebastian Thrun. It's a great honor to meet you. And I want to thank you for keeping us safe and moving us forward. This has been, of course, a vital time for all of us with over 30 million unemployed. It's our chance to really redefine how education looks like and move into a world where people learn lifelong, have lifelong access, and can really unfold their livelihoods.

Ivanka was, of course, the visionary behind all of this. And thank you for doing this. I mentioned Tony Boswell, a truck driver who was driving trucks for 10 years, and then his truck broke down, and he couldn't finance the new engine that he needed. He was unemployed, had no income, no education, and came across, by randomness, a Google scholarship that Udacity launched. And then, in 10 months' time, was able to become a software engineer. These are the stories that I believe this Nation needs. I think we have so much opportunity, so much potential in this great nation to bring people forward, and I think this is the time to do it.

The President. That's a great story. It's a great story. Amazing story. Ginni, please.

IBM Executive Chairman Virginia M. "Ginni" Rometty. Yes. Well, first, Mr. President, thank you for your leadership during this time.

The President. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Ms. Rometty. And you used an important word when you described Ivanka's contribution here as a "labor of love" because this is somethingâI think what the team has done collectively will have a very long-term impact, as well as short-term. And we are solving probablyâor working towards helping solve one of the most important programs for growth for the country as well, soâto help anyone from any socioeconomic background.

So I reallyâmy hat is off and a thanks to Secretary Ross and to Ivanka for having led us through this. And I think what we have put on the table is substantive change, and I know it is a change to a company like mine. So as you sign skills first, we've adopted that, and 15 percent of our hires last year were people from nontraditional backgrounds. And so it's aâit's really what this is all about, I think, in giving everyone a brightâa bright future in the digital era.

So thank you for that.

The President. Thank you very much, Ginni. Good job.

Ms. Rometty. Thank you.

The President. Eric, go ahead, please.

Governor Eric J. Holcomb of Indiana. Well, I'll just add my appreciation. I mean, what you're doing today is leveling the playing field. And there's been a lot of people, a lot of have- nots that will have an opportunity to join the haves. And to do it during a time of such challenge, but to recognize the opportunity that's here, and to do it nowâthere couldn't be a more important time.

So appreciate everyone's effort around this table and your leadership on this front.

The President. And Indiana is doing very well. I'm hearing good things.

Gov. Holcomb. We are. We are moving in the right direction. We areâwe've got 93,000 unfilled jobs right nowââ

The President. Amazing.

Gov. Holcomb. ââthat we need to fill. We've ushered in 100,000 jobs in just 3Â½ years; the previous record was 93,000 in 4 years. These are high-wage, high- demand jobs. These are $28, north, an hour.

The President. That's great.

Gov. Holcomb. So this is what it's all about, skilling up the workforce. Thank you.

The President. That's great. Great job. Thank you very much. Kim.

Gov. Reynolds. Well, thank you, Mr. President. And what I so appreciate about your administration is, it's really an administration of action. You identified barriers and gaps, and then you helped bring the right people together to find the solutions and enact those. So thank you very much.

It's been an honor to be a part of this Advisory Board. I appreciate how, with the leadership of Ivanka and Secretary Ross, we really have identified the various elements, connected those elements, whether it's been consistent data, definition, goals, and messaging. And I look forward to really amplifying that in the State of Iowa.

By executive order, I just created an economic task force. I brought several CEOs, business leaders, and nonprofits together to utilize their expertise in the way through innovation, adaptation, and creativity adjusted within weeks to the coronavirus.

And everything that this group has talked about will fold so well into what we're trying to do at the State level. And when you think about that happening in every State across the country, we really are going to come back stronger and better and really help provide opportunities for every single American.

So thank you for leading it.

The President. All right. And we see it now, Kim. Next year is going to be, we think, amazing, actually.

Gov. Reynolds. Yes. I agree.

The President. It's going to be an amazing year. Larry, would you like to say something?

National Economic Council Director Kudlow. Yes. Thanks, sir. I spoke just before you came, but I'll just repeat the "V" shaped recovery. Virtually every number is showing a "V" shaped recovery nowâprivate surveys, Government statistics, restaurants, home builders, truckers, durable goods makers, Apple mobility and travel, gasoline demand.

As you said, the jobs went up really about 3 million in May. We had tremendous retail sales.

Actually, today, in the income report, we had tremendous consumer spending: 8 percent at an annual rate for 1 month. It's a great story.

The President. That's a great number. Yes.

Director Kudlow. And I still think we'll get 20 percent in the second half of the year. And if we get another 5 percent in the first quarter of next year, we will be right back to the peak in 2019, where you got us the first time with the growth policies.

And I just want to say: Ivanka, I gave you a big pitch, gave youâdid the best I could.

Private sector reskilling and retrainingâand not only will people come back to the labor force when they're reskilled; they'll come back with higher wages, and they'll come back with more confidence, and it will make a huge difference as it already has.

And so I've added you to the four pillars of growth. The Presidentââ

The President. Good.

Director Kudlow. Tax cutsââ

The President. Good taste.

Director Kudlow. ââderegulation, energy unleashing, fair trade deals, and private sectorâ led reskilling. How's that, sir? [Laughter]

The President. That's great. That's great. And I'm very happy what you said about early next year. I think next year is going to be an incredible year.

Thank you very much, Larry.

Director Kudlow. Appreciate it.

The President. Wilbur, would you like to say something?

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. Yes, Mr. President. Thank you for the opportunity to help Ivanka and the others on this group. I've been very, very impressed with the productivity of this Advisory Board. Most Advisory Boards create a big, thick book at the end. It goes in the library and nothing happens. This group, every single meeting, there's a specific, tangible thing that gets filed up, and it gets implemented.

So it's really been a heartwarming thing to see how productive these folks have been, and I congratulate all of them.

The President. Thank you very much. Thank you. Gene, please.

Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia. Thank you, Mr. President. And you mentioned the 3Â½ percent unemployment rate just a few months ago. You did so many things for the American worker during those 3 years. You know, back in the summer of 2016, the Congressional Budget Office said that we'd be at 5 percent unemployment in February. They said that, between then and February 2020, they said we'd create 1.9 million jobs; we created 7 million jobs.

[*Secretary Scalia continued his remarks, concluding as follows.*]

I spoke earlier about a new apprenticeship rule that we adopted at the Labor Department that I think will be very helpful. This will be an important part of the rebound.

The President. Thank you, Gene, very much. Appreciate it. Steve, please.

Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin. Thank you, Mr. President. Well, as others said, your economic team, working with you, knew how to create jobs, and it created an enormous amount. And because of this virus, we had to, unfortunately, shut down the economy.

[*Secretary Mnuchin continued his remarks, concluding as follows.*]

We know we need a few more tools. We'll go back to Congress next month, but we're going to get everybody back to work. And I'm confident we're going to see a strong third and fourth quarter as we reopen.

The President. That's great, Steve. Thank you very much.

Anybody else would like to say something? Anybody? Anybody? This is your chance. Go ahead. Please.

Acting Director of the Domestic Policy Council Brooke L. Rollins. Mr. President, I just want to say, as your Domestic Policy chief, what an extraordinary todayâday today is, and here's why: It's not just the work of this council and the leadership of Ivanka, it is the executive order that you are about to sign that completely resets the playing field.

[*Acting Director Rollins continued her remarks, concluding as follows.*]

And the opportunity for you to fight for all AmericansâI think about Tony that Ivanka talked about; that Sebastian talked about from Udacityâfrom a truck driver, to a software engineer, next potentially into the Federal Government because of this executive order that is focusing on skills, rather than degrees.

Congratulations and thank you for your leadership. It's extraordinary.

The President. Thank you. Thank you very much. Anybody? Jovita.

Administrator of the Small Business Administration Jovita Carranza. Yes, President Trump, thank you very much for your strong leadership. You know, I sit in the audience here as part of a participation of this particular Advisory Board, and I'm a recipient of the type of programs that you are actually implementing and supporting.

[*Administrator Carranza continued her remarks, concluding as follows.*]

And one other comment. I'm looking at all of these private sector companies, the super leaders in your various sectors. You are the primary contractors for the subcontractors that I represent as an advocate for Small Business Administration. So once you reinstate your viability, the small-business sector will then follow soon after.

So thank you again, President.

Thank you very much, Jovita. Thank you very much.

Secretary of Education Elisabeth Prince DeVos. Mr. Presidentââ

The President. Please.

Secretary DeVos. I just appreciate your unrelenting focus on creating opportunity for all Americans, and that begins with opportunities in education. And I so appreciate your leadership

there. And it's been a privilege to be part of this, Ivanka. And, Secretary Ross, thank you for your work here.

We are privileged to carry out your vision in policy and action, as Governor Reynolds said.

And thank you for your leadership.

The President. Choice, how's that going? Choice. Right?

Secretary DeVos. Yes.

The President. That's what we want. Please.

Western Governors University President Scott Pulsipher. Yes, I was just going to say thank you, Mr. President. From a university's perspective, it's often perceived as skills versus degrees. But in reality, in a skills-denominated future, it is that tide that lifts all boats. Because even those who possess degrees, they can better articulate the skills and competencies that they now have for the future of work.

And the reality is, too, is that it's also more fair, it's more equitable, it's more prosperous for our workforce because what it really is, it's now about what you possess and what you can demonstrate, not how you acquired the competency and skill.

The President. Right.

Mr. Pulsipher. And so it just creates much more of an equitable pathway. And WGU, as a competency-based education provider, has always been focused on how do you articulate the outcomes of achieving a degree in a skills and competency-based way, so it's much more aligned with the future of work. And so it is truly that tide that lifts all boats.

So this is a huge step in the right direction. So thank you very much.

The President. I agree with you a hundred percent, I must say. [Laughter] I do.

Okay? Why don't we sign? And this is a big deal. Congratulations to everybody in the room.

This means a lot.

[*The President signed an Executive order titled "Modernizing and Reforming the Assessment and Hiring of Federal Job Candidates."*]

The President. Okay. We'll do that for Marillyn.

[*The President handed the signing pen to Ms. Hewson.*] *Ms. Hewson. *Thank you, Mr. President

The President. And we'll take this.

[*The President displayed the signed Executive order*.] Thank you very much. Okay.

[*The President signed an Executive order titled "Continuing the President's National Council for the American Worker and the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board.*]

The President. Okay. That's very good. We have pens for everybody. [Laughter] Here, honey. All right. Phase two. Thank you very much.

Well, thank you all very much. We appreciate it. This is really an important day for a lot of reasons. But this is one of them. Thank you all for being with us. We appreciate it very much.

Thank you very much.

NOTE: The President spoke at 2:55 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy of Alaska. Mr. Thrun and Acting Director Rollins referred to Tony Boswell, frontend developer, iModules.

Categories: Addresses and Remarks : American Workforce Policy Advisory Board meeting. Locations: Washington, DC.

Names: Carranza, Jovita; DeVos, Elisabeth Prince; Dunleavy, Michael J.; Hewson, Marillyn A.; Holcomb, Eric J.; Kudlow, Lawrence A.; Mnuchin, Steven T.; Pulsipher, Scott; Reynolds, Kimberly K.; Rollins, Brooke L.; Rometty, Virginia M. "Ginni"; Ross, Wilbur L., Jr.; Scalia, Eugene; Thrun, Sebastian; Trump, Ivanka M.

Subjects: Alaska : Governor; China : Coronavirus outbreak; Commerce, Department of : Secretary; Diseases : Coronavirus, domestic prevention efforts; Economy, national : Improvement; Economy, national : Strengthening efforts; Education, Department of : Secretary; Employment and unemployment : Job creation and growth; Employment and unemployment : Job training and assistance programs; Employment and unemployment : Unemployment rate; Government organization and employees : Federal job candidate assessment and hiring, improvement efforts; Indiana : Governor; Iowa : Governor; Labor, Department of : Secretary; Small Business Administration; Treasury, Department of the : Secretary; White House Office : Assistants to the President :: Adviser to the President; White House Office : Domestic Policy Council; White House Office : Economic Council, National; Workforce Policy Advisory Board, American.

DCPD Number: DCPD202000480.