Todd Thurston Semonite (born May 29, 1957) was the 54th chief of engineers of the United States Army and the commanding general of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

When Trump was asked to provide reporters with further details, Semonite cautioned him, "Sir, there could be some merit in not discussing that.

"[3] In March 2020, Semonite gave the Pentagon briefing on how the US military would initiate and lead an effort to lease a large number of facilities nationwide in hotels and in larger open buildings to increase the number of rooms and beds with ICU capability for the COVID-19 pandemic.

USACE handles leasing and engineering, with contracts for rapid facility modification and setup to local contractors.

The plan envisions that the facilities' operation and the provision of medical staff will be handled entirely by the various states rather than the federal government.