Tag Archives: Trump administration

The New York Times reports: A federal investigative office has found “reasonable grounds to believe” that the Trump administration was retaliating against a whistle-blower, Dr. Rick Bright, when he was ousted from a government research agency combating the coronavirus, and said he should be reinstated for 45 days while it investigates, his lawyers said Friday. Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports that …

Talking Points Memo reports: During a White House press briefing Friday, PBS White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor asked McEnany whether she still believed the comments Trump made in 2015 on the campaign trail were “racist.” “In 2015, shortly after the president said that some Mexican immigrants were rapists and criminals, you said that that language was racist and hateful. Do …

Politico reports: Katie Miller, a spokesperson for Vice President Mike Pence, has tested positive for coronavirus, according to two people with knowledge of Miller’s diagnosis. Miller’s positive diagnosis for Covid-19 puts the potential threat of the infection squarely into the president’s inner circle. Miller serves as the vice president’s top spokesperson, traveling with him frequently and attending meetings by his …

Forbes reports: Trump’s newly appointed press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, opened her first press briefing on Friday with a promise: “I will never lie to you, you have my word on that.” Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders, and Stephanie Grisham have all served under Trump as press secretary. McEnany follows Grisham, who is now returning to the East Wing to work as …

CNBC reports: An aide to Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for coronavirus, a senior administration official confirmed Friday to NBC News. The confirmation comes a day after news broke that President Donald Trump’s personal valet had also tested positive. A spokeswoman for Pence did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Pence was scheduled to travel to …

The Daily Beast reports: Of the nine senior Trump administration officials, campaign staff, outside advisers, and longtime associates of the president reached on Thursday, all said that they wanted Flynn to assume some public-facing role, including potentially as an official Trump surrogate. One even compared the ex-general, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian …

Talking Points Memo reports: Attorney General Bill Barr defended the Justice Department’s bombshell move to drop its case against Michael Flynn Thursday, telling CBS News that it was an “easy decision.” “I think easy because once I saw all the facts and some of the tactics used by the FBI in this instance and also the legal problems with the …

ABC News reports: Secretary of State Pompeo is leaning even harder into his attacks on the Chinese government over the novel coronavirus pandemic — even as he further walks back his claim that the U.S. has “enormous evidence” a biomedical laboratory in Wuhan, China, is responsible for the outbreak. The change comes as an intelligence official says there is no …

The Associated Press reports: The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for Trump and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Russia investigation. The move is a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special …

CNN reports: A member of the US Navy who serves as one of President Donald Trump’s personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus, CNN has learned Thursday, raising concerns about the President’s possible exposure to the virus. The valets are members of an elite military unit dedicated to the White House and often work very close to the President and …

Politico reports: The country’s top health official downplayed concerns over the public health conditions inside meatpacking plants, suggesting on a call with lawmakers that workers were more likely to catch coronavirus based on their social interactions and group living situations, three participants said. HHS Secretary Alex Azar told a bipartisan group that he believed infected employees were bringing the virus …

The Associated Press reports: A set of detailed documents created by the nation’s top disease investigators meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as mass transit, day care centers and restaurants during the still-raging pandemic has been shelved by the Trump administration. The 17-page report by a Centers for Disease …

The Daily Beast reports: If you were wondering what else the year 2020 could throw at us, Wednesday night brought us the spectacle of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin embroiling himself in a Twitter beef with Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose. The “Paradise City” singer kicked things off by blasting the former movie mogul, tweeting: “It’s official! Whatever anyone may …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration will urge the Supreme Court to overturn Obamacare, maintaining its all-out legal assault on the health care law amid a pandemic that will drive millions of more Americans to depend on its coverage. The administration appears to be doubling down on its legal strategy, even after Attorney General Bill Barr …

Mediaite reports: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is set to hold a press briefing at 4 p.m. E.T. on Wednesday. McEnany held her first press briefing on Friday, during which Associated Press correspondent Jill Colvin asked the press secretary to “pledge never to lie to us from that podium.” “I will never lie to you, you have my word …

The New York Times reports: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday issued final rules for how public and private schools and colleges must address allegations of sexual misconduct, locking in protections for accused students and faculty but tempering earlier proposals that critics said would harm victims of assault and harassment. The rules preserve Ms. DeVos’s broad goals in overhauling Title …

The Daily Beast reports: Financially strapped American Media Inc., which under the leadership of chief executive David Pecker weaponized the National Enquirer to serve Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and then acknowledged violating federal campaign laws by paying $150,000 in hush money to an alleged Trump mistress, is applying for a taxpayer-backed Paycheck Protection Program loan. On Tuesday, the company declined …

The New York Times reports: Trump administration officials are telling staff members of the coronavirus task force that the White House plans to wind down the operation in the weeks to come despite growing evidence that the crisis is raging on. It is not clear whether any other group might replace the task force. But its gradual demise, which officials …

STAT News reports: Rick Bright, the ousted head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, has filed a formal whistleblower complaint alleging he was involuntarily transferred to a lower position at the National Institutes of Health because he raised concerns about the Trump administration’s Covid-19 response and about nepotism in the Department of Health and Human Services. Among the …

Axios reports: Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), President’s Trump nominee for director of national intelligence (DNI), said at his confirmation hearing Tuesday that every government whistleblower should receive “every protection under the law.” As one of Trump’s fiercest defenders during the impeachment inquiry, Ratcliffe repeatedly sought to undermine the credibility of the Ukraine whistleblower, claiming without evidence that the complaint was …