Multiple association CEOs have been named to a special advisory groups created by the White House to restart the economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups "will work together with the White House to chart the path forward toward a future of unparalleled American prosperity," the Trump administration said in a statement Tuesday. Sixteen groups have been created with each focusing on a different industry sector, such as agriculture, retail, manufacturing and sports.

Linda Bauer Darr, CEO of the American Council of Engineering Companies, was appointed to the Construction, Labor and Workforce Great American Economic Industry Group by President Donald Trump. In a statement, Darr said a plan was needed before the country's engineering firms could "design a built environment that will carry the nation back into prosperity."

"It will be critical for the president and Congress to agree on an infrastructure stimulus that will create jobs through sustained, predictive, long-term investment," she said.

Other association CEOs on the construction and labor group include David Long of the National Electrical Contractors Association, Jerry Howard of the National Association of Home Builders, Michael Bellaman of Associated Builders and Contractors and Stephen Sandherr of Associated General Contractors.

Association CEOs on groups covering other industry sectors include Zippy Duvall of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Rich Nolan of the National Mining Association, Marvin Irby of the National Restaurant Association (Irby is interim CEO of the association), Dirk Van Dongen of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, Robert Cresanti of the International Franchise Association, Jay Timmons of the National Manufacturers Association, Matthew Shay of the National Retail Federation and Chris Spear of the American Trucking Associations.

Already the groups are proving controversial. Trump has proposed reopening the economy by May 1, which public health experts and many business leaders call unrealistic, according to the Washington Post. In addition, some business leaders named to the groups were not notified about their new roles before Trump made the announcement.

"We got a note about a conference call, like you'd get an invite to a Zoom thing, a few lines in an email, and that was it. Then our CEO heard his name in the Rose Garden? What the [expletive]?" one anonymous lobbyist for a leading global corporation told the Post. "My company is furious. How do you go from ‘Join us on a call' to, ‘Well, you're on our team?'"

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