Larry Kudlow: May a 'Transition' Month; Economy Will Resume

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Friday that May will be a "transition month" for the United States while it recovers from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but he "firmly" believes the economy will improve from its sudden closures. 

"We will get to the other side and we will resume what was one of the strongest economies in American history," Kudlow told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "That's what I want to get back to. I want to get back to the incentives from tax cuts and deregulation and the energy and good trade deals, but let's just get through the next bunch of weeks and we will come out okay, I firmly believe that."

But Thursday night, while on Fox News' "Hannity," Kudlow warned that the economy for the second quarter of this year will be "pretty awful."

The economy was "pretty darn strong" before the pandemic, so "we can recover that economic growth and get people working again, Kudlow told Hannity. "All we want to do is protect the workforce and the businesses, so in the next few weeks, we can rebound. A rebound will come."

Friday morning, Kudlow discussed President Donald Trump's plan for reopening the country, saying that the gradual transition coming out of the nationwide closures will mean that social distancing and other measures will continue for a while. 

"May will be a transition month and hopefully America will get back to work," he said. "We need it but it's got to be safe and secure."

Meanwhile, he said he doesn't know why Congress won't replenish the $250 billion in additional money needed for the Paycheck Protection Program loan process, which ran out of money on Thursday. 

"The program has been a terrific success, an absolutely terrific success and Secretary (Steven) Mnuchin and I and others have said, it's been eaten up rapidly," said Kudlow. "What is Congress waiting for? Let's get going. This thing should be done in a couple of hours and a voice vote today."

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