As the coronavirus crisis expands in the U.S., President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to hold back federal money if school districts don't bring their students back for the beginning of the coming school year. 

Vice President Mike Pence announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be issuing new guidance next week "that will give all new tools to U.S. schools." The recommendations will keep students safe, he said, but "the president said today we just don't want the guidance to be too tough."

Elsewhere in the nation, many states continued to confront a resurgence of the the virus, which has claimed more than 130,000 lives in the U.S. But safety obstacles in schools can be surmounted, Trump insisted, and reopening "is important for the children and families. May cut off funding if not open!"

He did not say what funding he would pull, but Pence suggested at a coronavirus task force briefing that future COVID-19 relief bills could be tied to reopening schools as one way "to give states a strong incentive and encouragement to get kids back in school."

Among those pushing for a fall reopening was the chief of the CDC. But Trump on Wednesday complained the agency's school opening guidelines were too tough and costly. The CDC's director, Dr. Robert Redfield, has emphasized that his agency's guidelines are only recommendations.

Inject politics into public health 

With millions of the nation's parents anxious about their children's safety in the fall - and their own work interruptions if they must stay home - Trump continued to inject politics into public health. He accused Democrats, yet again, of wanting to keep schools closed for election-year reasons rather than health concerns. And he issued a veiled threat to CDC officials over their reopening guidelines, tweeting "I will be meeting with them!”

For a nation that prides itself on its public school system, it's an extraordinary situation in this pandemic year. 

Trump made his threat a day after launching an all-out effort pressing state and local officials to reopen the nation's schools and colleges this fall. At a White House event Tuesday, health and education officials argued that keeping students out for the fall semester would pose greater health risks than any tied to the coronavirus.

Recently, U.S. colleges and universities have begun to announce plans for the fall 2020 semester amid the coronavirus pandemic. Harvard on Monday announced it would conduct course instruction online for the 2020-2021 academic year. Trump's administration has imposed a number of new restrictions to legal and illegal immigration in recent months as a result of the pandemic, many international students have to remake their academic plans if they have to leave the country given their classes might be taught online this fall. 

In June, the administration suspended work visas for a wide swath of non-immigrant workers that it argued compete with U.S. citizens for jobs. The administration has also effectively suspended the admission of asylum seekers at the southern border with Mexico, citing health risks as justification. 

State and local backlash 

On Twitter, Trump argued that countries including Germany, Denmark and Norway have reopened schools "with no problems."

His Twitter warnings yet drew backlash from some governors who said he has no authority over schools'fall plans. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said officials will reopen when "it's safe to do so."

"School reopenings are a state decision, period," he said at a news conference. "That is the law, and that is the way we are going to proceed. It's not up to the president of the United States."

Despite Trump's increased pressure on state and local officials, New York City announced that most of its students would return to classrooms only two or three days a week and would learn online in between. "Most schools will not be able to have all their kids in school at the same time," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also tweeted, "our schools and child care providers need more federal funding - not les - to be able to safely open.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made reopening schools a priority to help parents get back to work, and he said Wednesday he supports CDC guidance to help that happen.

Senate Democrats have proposed 430 billion U.S. dollars for schools and child care providers as part of the next aid package to be debated in Congress later this month. McConnell, too, has suggested schools will need more money. 

Caution urged 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced Tuesday that it will welcome some students to campus in the fall, but only seniors and those who need to live on campus because of visa conditions, safety or other reasons. 

At the University of Texas in Austin, officials announced the death of a custodian because of COVID-19. In Mid-West, seven student-athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 at the University of Wisconsin, and the university said it has isolated the infected students and will continue monitoring their condition.

The U.S. Ivy League on Wednesday became the first Division I conference to suspend all fall sports, including football, leaving open the possibility of moving some seasons to the spring if the coronavirus pandemic is better controlled by then.

"We simply do not believe we can create and maintain an environment for intercollegiate athletic competition that meets our requirements for safety and acceptable levels of risk," the Ivy League Council of Presidents said in a statement.

The Ivy League announcement affects not just football but soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross country, as well as the fall portion of winter sports like basketball. Wednesday's decision means Harvard and Yale will not play football in 2020, interrupting a rivalry known as The Game for the first time since the two World Wars. 

In this vague situation of the reopening, the CDC's guidance recommends that students and teachers wear masks whenever feasible, spread out desks, stagger schedules, eat meals in classrooms instead of the cafeteria and add physical barriers between bathroom sinks.

Trump did not clarify which of the guidelines he opposed. But a White House spokeswoman later offered an example, saying the president takes issue with the CDC's suggestion that students bring their own meals to school when feasible.

(With input from agencies)