Flutterby™! : Keeping the Feds at bay

Back in May, President Trump told states to manage their own PPE acquisitions:

“Governors are supposed to be doing a lot of this work, and they are doing a lot of this work,” Trump said. “The Federal government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping. You know, we’re not a shipping clerk.”

Then Robert Kraft used the Patriots plain to airlift Coronavirus masks and supplies to Massachusetts, because the supplies kept getting co-opted at the federal level.

Now Maryland has gone full armed-guard, potentially pitting the state's National Guard against Federal forces: Governor Hogan: Maryland keeping coronavirus tests acquired from South Korea at secret, protected location:

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told Washington Post Live on Thursday that the state has hidden coronavirus test kits it obtained from South Korea in order to prevent the federal government from seizing them for redistribution.

“The National Guard and the State Police are both guarding these tests at an undisclosed location," he said. "They’re helping us distribute the tests. They're also helping in all kinds of other humanitarian needs. We have about 1,300 members of the Maryland National Guard who've been activated."

Maryland called in National Guard troops to defend coronavirus tests from South Korea against seizure

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told The Washington Post Thursday that National Guard troops and state police were guarding coronavirus tests that the state purchased from South Korea at a secret location to prevent the federal government from seizing them.

It has been seeming for quite a while like FEMA is redistributing medical supplies for political reasons: From March 28, Desperate for medical equipment, states encounter a beleaguered national stockpile:

Florida has been an exception in its dealings with the stockpile: The state submitted a request on March 11 for 430,000 surgical masks, 180,000 N95 respirators, 82,000 face shields and 238,000 gloves, among other supplies — and received a shipment with everything three days later, according to figures from the state’s Division of Emergency Management. It received an identical shipment on March 23, according to the division, and is awaiting a third.

“The governor has spoken to the president daily, and the entire congressional delegation has been working as one for the betterment of the state of Florida,” said Jared Moskowitz, the emergency management division’s director. “We are leaving no stone unturned.”

President Trump repeatedly has warned states not to complain about how much they are receiving, including Friday during a White House briefing, where he advised Vice President Pence not to call governors who are critical of the administration’s response. “I want them to be appreciative,” he said.

So I'm not sure what the hell is going on, but...