COVID-19 and Public Health Preparedness and Response

This executive order revokes three COVID-19-era executive orders related to hoarding prevention, federal workforce masking, and travel safety. It terminates the COVID-19 Response Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator positions, transferring their responsibilities to the Director of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), a congressionally established office within the Executive Office of the President.

Federal Register Open PDF 89 FR 27355

Key directives

Revoke Executive Orders 13910, 13991, and 13998
Transfer all COVID-19 Response Coordinator responsibilities to OPPR Director
Terminate COVID-19 Response Coordinator position
Terminate Deputy Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response position

Who is ordered

Director of the OPPR · Executive Office of the President

Timeline

Immediate

Revocation of EO 13910 (hoarding prevention)
Revocation of EO 13991 (federal masking)
Revocation of EO 13998 (travel safety)
Termination of COVID-19 Response Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator positions
Transfer of COVID-19 response responsibilities to OPPR Director

Near term (90d)

OPPR Director assumes transferred coordination duties
Agency coordination transitions from COVID-19 Response Coordinator to OPPR

Long term

Structural shift of pandemic response to permanent congressionally authorized office
Potential lasting changes to federal public health emergency architecture

Risks & tensions

No transition period specified for shifting responsibilities to OPPR—potential coordination gaps
Termination of travel and masking EOs removes federal requirements but state/local rules may remain—patchwork compliance possible
OPPR was established by Congress in December 2022; this EO centralizes pandemic authority in a permanent office, reducing direct presidential control over response coordination
Vague whether appropriations exist for OPPR to absorb expanded duties—Sec. 4(b) subjects implementation to availability of funds