Trump Administration

Reuters reports: U.S. Ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson has made insensitive and inappropriate comments during his tenure, including about race, religion and sex, the State Department’s inspector general has found, judging that morale in some parts of the mission has dropped. “Offensive or derogatory comments, based on an individual’s race, color, sex, or religion, can create an offensive working environment …

Axios reports: House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill to restrict changes to the U.S. Postal Service’s level of operation, the representative’s office announced on Wednesday. Why it matters: The bill comes amid increased scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers, who say recent efforts to restructure USPS threaten the use of mail-in ballots for the November election. Maloney …

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, met privately last weekend with Kanye West, the rapper who has filed petitions to get on the November ballots for president in several states. The meeting took place in Colorado, where Mr. Kushner was traveling with his wife, Ivanka Trump, those familiar with the meeting said. Mr. …

Reuters reports: A shakeup of the U.S. Postal Service is leading to mail delays, union officials said on Tuesday, heightening concerns that an ally of President Donald Trump is destabilizing the service as millions of Americans consider whether to cast their ballots by mail in the Nov. 3 presidential election. New Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who has donated $2.7 million …

CNN reports: A federal appeals court on Tuesday is considering whether former national security adviser Michael Flynn should have his case dismissed immediately because he shouldn’t have been interviewed by the FBI in the early days of the Trump administration and thus should never have pleaded guilty to lying, according to the DOJ’s reasoning. The case has had countless twists …

ABC News reports: A U.K. lawmaker has asked the government to hold a virtual trial for the wife of an American diplomat who left Britain after being involved in a road accident that killed a British teenager. The decision to charge Anne Sacoolas, who has claimed diplomatic immunity, has caused tensions between the U.K. and the United States. The Americans …

Via press release from the State Department: The United States is deeply concerned about the conduct of the August 9 presidential election in Belarus, which was not free and fair. Severe restrictions on ballot access for candidates, prohibition of local independent observers at polling stations, intimidation tactics employed against opposition candidates, and the detentions of peaceful protesters and journalists marred …

The New York Times reports: President Trump is considering new immigration rules that would allow border officials to temporarily block an American citizen or legal permanent resident from returning to the United States from abroad if the authorities have reason to believe the person may be infected with the coronavirus. Stephen Miller, the architect of the president’s assault on immigration, …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is expected in the coming days to lift Obama-era controls on the release of methane, a powerful climate-warming gas that is emitted from leaks and flares in oil and gas wells. The new rule on methane pollution, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, has been expected for months, and will be made …

The New York Post reports: Secret Service agents abruptly halted President Trump’s coronavirus briefing on Monday after an armed suspect was shot outside the White House. The president was just minutes into his briefing when a Secret Service agent whispered in Trump’s ear and asked him to leave the podium along with other administration officials who were in the room. …

Roll Call reports: After months of remaining vague about its plans to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine, the Trump administration is quietly piloting distribution working groups, CQ Roll Call has learned. The plan, which is not yet public, was confirmed by four state health departments. Federal officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Pentagon and the administration’s Operation …

Mediaite reports: Despite reports of widespread delays, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany is defending U.S. coronavirus testing — claiming that there is actually an abundance of supply. Appearing on Fox & Friends Monday, the press secretary was confronted by host Ainsley Earhardt — who said that she’s spoken with friends who had difficulty getting a rapid coronavirus test. “There …

The New York Times reports: He was the star witness in the Russia investigation, whose testimony helped convict two powerful advisers to the president. Now, Rick Gates, a high-level aide on Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign, is preparing to tell his story in a memoir that will be published weeks before the 2020 election. Mr. Gates, who was sentenced to …

Fox News reports: The United States is grappling with a new form of “urban guerrilla warfare” driven by the left’s “lust for power,” Attorney General William Barr told “Life, Liberty & Levin” on Sunday. It began the day Trump won in 2016, “and from that point forward, there’s been the resistance,” Barr told Levin. “They were trying to impeach him …

Talking Points Memo reports: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday combatively defended President Trump over his move to sign a flurry of coronavirus relief executive orders at his golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey. After saying that he’s “confident” that Trump’s executive actions “will stand up” in court, Navarro was pressed on why Trump stayed at his golf …

The New York Daily News reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday defended the legality of President Trump’s executive orders to provide financial help during the coronavirus — and said Americans would hold Democrats responsible for delaying the assistance if they challenge the actions in court. “We’ve cleared with the office of legal counsel all these actions,” Mnuchin said on …

USA Today reports: The U.S. reached another historic milestone Sunday, surpassing 5 million reported cases of COVID-19 — a number roughly equal to one-quarter of total worldwide cases reported. The numbers continue to roar higher: More than 56,000 new U.S. cases were reported Sunday, with more than 1,000 deaths. More than 162,000 Americans have died in little more than six …

Politico reports: This past spring, President Donald Trump began a full-fledged assault on voting by mail, tweeting, retweeting and railing about massive fraud and rigged elections with scant evidence. Then the Republican apparatus got to work backing up the president. In the weeks since, Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have taken to the courts dozens of times as …

The New York Post reports: Yeezy come, Yeezy go. Kanye West won’t be appearing on the presidential ballot for his home state after election officials in Illinois found that 1,900 of the 3,128 signatures West submitted are invalid. That leaves the rapper short of the 2,500 needed to be included on the state’s Presidential ballot. While no reason was given, …

NPR reports: TikTok is planning to sue the Trump administration, challenging the president’s executive order banning the service from the United States. The video-sharing app hugely popular with the smartphone generation TikTok will file the federal lawsuit as soon as Tuesday, according to a person who was directly involved in the forthcoming suit but was not authorized to speak for …