President Trump has urged state governors to allow places of worship to open as an essential service, adding that he would override them if they chose not to.
The president has considerable power, but it is not within his means to order governors to do this. However, he could potentially withhold federal aid to states that he feels are not adequately allowing places to resume religious services.
Governors are responsible for the varying degrees of stay-at-home measures that have been put in place to curtail the spread of Covid-19.
Mr Trump said, “in America, we need more prayer, not less”.
