WASHINGTON – A day after it lost a court battle over COVID-19 relief funding for Native American tribes, the Trump Administration announced it plans to re-establish the White House Council on Native American Affairs, which was created by a 2013 executive order issued by then President Barack Obama.

In a news release, the White House said that it re-established the Native American Affairs council under Executive Order 13647 as a way to continue inter-agency coordination of the Indian Country COVID-19 Response Team assembled by the White House in early March. The Council will be chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, and includes major executive agencies and senior White House leadership.