Trump Administration

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 …

NBC News reports: A day after President Donald Trump confirmed that he planned to wind down the White House coronavirus task force, the president announced Wednesday that it will now continue indefinitely. In a series of tweets, Trump said the task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, has done a “fantastic job of bringing together vast highly complex resources …

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 …

Real Clear Politics reports: The White House last week blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying in the House this Wednesday. And now, according to an internal document obtained by RealClearPolitics and three senior administration officials, the administration will bar the coronavirus task force, which includes Fauci, from testifying in Congress for the next month. “For the month of May, no …

The New York Times reports: As President Trump presses for states to reopen their economies, his administration is privately projecting a steady rise in the number of cases and deaths from the coronavirus over the next several weeks, reaching about 3,000 daily deaths on June 1, according to an internal document obtained by The New York Times, nearly double from …

The New York Daily News reports: Steve Mnuchin has some good news and some bad news. The Treasury Secretary said Monday that more stimulus would be coming soon to help an economy crippled by coronavirus. But Mnuchin also said it’s “too hard to tell” whether international travel will be possible this year as the pandemic wreaks havoc across the globe. …

France 24 reports: China’s state broadcaster CCTV on Monday attacked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s “insane and evasive remarks” over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, further fuelling Sino-US tensions. Pompeo on Sunday said “enormous evidence” showed the virus originated in a lab in China, doubling down on previous claims that have been repeatedly denied by the World Health …

Via press release from the Justice Department: The Department of Justice today filed a Statement of Interest in a Virginia federal court concerning the First Amendment’s freedom of religion in support of Lighthouse Fellowship Church (Lighthouse), a congregation in Chincoteague Island, Virginia, that serves, among others, recovering drug addicts and former prostitutes. The Statement of Interest is part of Attorney …

Axios reports: Vice President Mike Pence admitted during a Fox News town hall Sunday night that he should have worn a mask when visiting the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, last week — a move that violated the clinic’s policy and sparked widespread backlash. Pence initially said he did not wear a mask because CDC guidelines note that masks are …

The Daily Beast reports: White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow defended his infamous assertion in late February that the coronavirus pandemic had been contained “pretty close to airtight,” telling CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Sunday that his remarks were factual at the time. Noting that there appears to be a disconnect within the Trump administration between public health experts and …

Bloomberg News reports: U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said “enormous evidence” shows the novel coronavirus outbreak began in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but didn’t provide any proof for his claims. “I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan,” Pompeo said on ABC’s “This Week.” “These are …

The New York Post reports: Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, was asked by host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” about crowds that gathered at Michigan’s state capitol from a “public health standpoint.” “It’s devastatingly worrisome to me personally because if they go home and, in fact, their grandmother or their grandfather who …

They’ve been signaling this shift all week: The White House plans to shift its coronavirus messaging toward boosting the economy and highlighting “success stories” of businesses, reducing its public emphasis on health statistics, according to two officials familiar with the planning. Driving the news: The Coronavirus Task Force — and the doctors who’ve become household names, Deborah Birx and Anthony …

The Washington Post reports: The White House is blocking Anthony S. Fauci from testifying before a House subcommittee investigating the coronavirus outbreak and response, arguing that it would be “counterproductive” for him to appear next week while in the midst of participating in the government’s response to the pandemic. The White House issued a statement about Fauci’s testimony shortly after …

The Washington Post reports: Vice President Pence’s office has threatened to retaliate against a reporter who revealed that Pence’s office had told journalists they would need masks for Pence’s visit to the Mayo Clinic — a requirement Pence himself did not follow. Pence’s wife, Karen Pence, said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday that he was unaware of …

Deadline reports: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Friday did something her predecessor never did: She held an official press briefing. “I will never lie to you. You have my word on this,” she said in response to a question. She also told reporters that they do plan to continue the briefings and she will announce “timing forthcoming.” For …