Trump Administration

The Daily Beast reports: Pentagon officials have reportedly said that they have absolutely no idea what President Donald Trump was talking about when he described the gigantic and deadly Beirut explosion as a “terrible attack” carried out using a “bomb of some kind.” On Tuesday, hours after the explosion killed at least a hundred people and wounded thousands, Trump said: …

The Washington Post reports: The United States averaged more than 1,000 new coronavirus-related deaths for the ninth day in a row Tuesday, as fatalities remain high following a peak in new cases. Daily new deaths had surged to near 3,000 in April before dropping, on average, through May and June. But with states reopening, the summer brought spikes in infections, …

Reuters reports: White House officials on Tuesday could not say how the U.S. government would receive a portion of the proceeds from any sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations, one day after President Donald Trump called for a cut of the money. “There’s no specific blueprint here,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Fox Business Network on Tuesday. “It …

Mediaite reports: WNBC’s Geoff Bennett invoked Trump’s tweet during McEnany’s press briefing, and he asked her to explain the about-face. “What in his view changed? Was he advised by Republicans that he was potentially suppressing his own vote by stoking unfounded fears about mail-in voting? Will he admit now the fact that voting by mail across the country by mail …

CNN reports: The National Association of the Deaf and five deaf Americans are suing the White House in an attempt to force President Donald Trump and other top officials to have American Sign Language interpreters at Covid-19 briefings. They’ve asked a federal judge to order the White House to add live televised ASL interpretation at all public coronavirus briefings. “The …

NBC News reports: The deputy White House liaison to the U.S. Agency for International Development was fired Monday after making a series of comments critical of gay marriage and LGBTQ rights, two former Trump administration officials confirmed to NBC News. The deputy White House liaison to the U.S. Agency for International Development was fired Monday after making a series of …

The Guardian reports: House speaker Nancy Pelosi escalated an attack on Dr Deborah Birx, a senior scientist on Donald Trump’s coronavirus taskforce, in television comments on Sunday as Birx defended the administration’s handling of the pandemic. Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, was asked on ABC’s This Week whether she has confidence in Birx, a renowned public health expert who …

The New York Times reports: Deutsche Bank has opened an internal investigation into the longtime personal banker of President Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, over a 2013 real estate transaction between the banker and a company part-owned by Mr. Kushner. In June 2013, the banker, Rosemary Vrablic, and two of her Deutsche Bank colleagues purchased a Park Avenue apartment …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump has installed a nominee for a top Pentagon job in a senior Department of Defense post on a temporary basis after lawmakers abruptly canceled his confirmation hearing last week amid lingering questions about his fitness for the role. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, a novelist, former state government official and Fox News regular, withdrew …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump only agreed to allow Microsoft Corp to negotiate the acquisition of popular short-video app TikTok if it could secure a deal in 45 days, three people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The move represents an about-face for Trump and prompted the U.S. tech giant to declare its interest in the blockbuster social media …

ABC News reports: A last-ditch effort was mounted by Senate Republicans Thursday evening, with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pulling back members — many had already left for home for the weekend — to vote on a plan that would cut the weekly federal benefit to $200, or two-thirds of lost wages. Democrats unanimously opposed the measure. While many Americans have …

Business Insider reports: The White House coronavirus testing czar said Sunday it was time to “move on” from the discussions surrounding hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus days after President Donald Trump again defended the drug. “There may be circumstances — I don’t know what they are — where a physician may prescribe it for an individual, but I …

Vox reports: The Trump administration has been accused of attempting to pressure another foreign country into helping Trump’s reelection prospects, according to a letter from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. That letter cites Brazilian news articles that report US Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman [photo] pressured members of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration to lower ethanol tariffs in order to …

Law & Crime reports: The office of Vice President Mike Pence used political pressure to get former Missouri governor Eric Greitens reinstated into the Navy despite those in command stating they wanted nothing to do with the scandal-plagued former SEAL, the Kansas City Star reported Saturday. The Star obtained 850 pages of documents through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) …

Via press release from the US Mint: Simply put, there is an adequate amount of coins in the economy, but the slowed pace of circulation has meant that sufficient quantities of coins are sometimes not readily available where needed. You may be experiencing this in your local communities. We are asking for your help in improving this coin supply issue. …

CNN reports: The Trump administration is dramatically increasing fees for dozens of immigration and work applications, including a more than 80 percent increase on naturalization applications and a first-time fee for asylum applicants. US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency responsible for the country’s immigration and naturalization system, updated and finalized its fee structure after a nearly nine month review. …

The Washington Post reports: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner earned at least $36.2 million as they served in the White House last year, reporting a boost in income from some companies they own that hold residential and commercial properties, new disclosures released Friday show. President Trump’s daughter and her husband, who serve as top advisers to him, reported a minimum …

Johnson City’s ABC News affiliate reports: The pastor of a local church who gained national attention for his support of local law enforcement is now battling COVID-19. When Pastor Perry Cleek’s church, Lighthouse Missionary Baptist in Jonesborough, donated $1,000 to every Jonesborough Department of Public Safety employee earlier this month, the story went viral. That led the White House to …

Atlanta’s Fox affiliate reports: A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details a large coronavirus outbreak at an overnight camp in Georgia that resulted in 260 sick campers and staffers. Researchers say this seems to indicate children are susceptible to COVID-19 and have the ability to spread it. According to the report, the camp in question, …

Politico reports: The acting chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Matthew Albence, is leaving the government. A career law enforcement officer who filled a number of positions within the DHS, Albence recently sparred with White House officials over how to handle ICE’s mission amid the coronavirus pandemic. Trump officials accused Albence of favoring humanitarian concerns about the treatment of immigrants …