Federal and State Governments Have Less Control Over Shutdowns Than They Think

Officials in six Pennsylvania counties say they will allow businesses to reopen without permission from the state government. Expect more of that.

On April 16, President Donald Trump and the White House's COVID-19 task force outlined a three-step process for states to begin unwinding their economic shutdowns. The plan was contingent on ramping up testing and slowing the spread of new cases, and it likely would have taken months to progress from phase one to phase three.

Just three weeks later, a growing number of states have largely discarded the...