Trump Administration

The New York Times reports: Top White House officials are blocking strict new federal guidelines for the emergency release of a coronavirus vaccine, objecting to a provision that would almost certainly guarantee that no vaccine could be authorized before the election on Nov. 3, according to people familiar with the approval process. Facing a White House blockade, the Food and …

Politico reports: The Commission on Presidential Debates has approved plans for plexiglass to be used in Wednesday’s vice presidential debate amid mounting concerns about coronavirus transmission, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The Pence and Harris teams have been negotiating the terms of the debate in recent days. Following Friday’s news that President Donald Trump had contracted Covid-19, …

The Guardian reports: ABC news is reporting that Chad Gilmartin, the principal assistant press secretary, has tested positive for Covid-19. Bloomberg, confirming the reporting, said Karoline Leavitt, an assistant press secretary, has also tested positive, along with other mid-level staffers. The White House Correspondents’ Association has released a statement on McEnany’s diagnosis. “We wish Kayleigh, the president and everyone else …

USA Today reports: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany tested positive for COVID-19, she announced on Twitter Monday. “After testing negative consistently, including every day since Thursday, I tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms,” she said in a statement. McEnany, who holds press briefings with members of the media regularly, said “No reporters, producers, or …

Fox News reports: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the administration is “optimistic” President Trump will be able to return to the White House on Monday after spending several days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center being treated for coronavirus, saying Trump’s health improved overnight and the president is ready to get back “to a normal working …

Fox News reports: Claudia Conway announced on social media Sunday that she has coronavirus. “Hey guys currently dying of covid!” Conway, the daughter of President Trump’s former aide Kellyanne Conway, wrote on a TikTok post. Kellyanne Conway announced her own coronavirus diagnosis on Friday minutes after her daughter broke the news. The elder Conway was at the Sept. 26 Rose …

Politico reports: In early September, as many school districts were still deciding whether to hold in-person classes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention altered the title of a scientific report on the coronavirus and removed words like “pediatric” from its text, days after a Trump administration appointee requested similar changes, according to emails obtained by POLITICO. That request — …

The Associated Press reports: Attorney General William Barr will self-quarantine out of caution after President Donald Trump and several other lawmakers and aides tested positive for the coronavirus. Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said late Sunday that Barr has had four COVID-19 tests since Friday, and all have come back negative. She says he will self-quarantine for several days out …

The New York Times reports: Two members of the White House residence staff tested positive for the coronavirus roughly three weeks ago, according to two people familiar with the diagnoses. The people who tested positive were not employees who come in direct contact with the president and the first lady, one of the people familiar with the diagnoses said. But …

The Washington Post reports: National security adviser Robert O’Brien said Sunday that Trump will remain at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for “at least another period of time.” O’Brien said Trump’s doctors “want to make sure they are there for the president and he’s getting the best treatment. But he’s doing well.” O’Brien, in an appearance on CBS News’s …

The Independent reports: The Trump administration’s credibility crisis continues as the president is mocked for apparently signing a blank piece of paper with a marker in photos taken at Walter Reed military hospital, in a vain attempt to show him working while fighting coronavirus. On Saturday night, the White House released photos of Donald Trump appearing hard at work while …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump is furious with chief of staff Mark Meadows after the top West Wing official contradicted the White House physician’s assessment Saturday of the President’s health, two sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN on Sunday. Meadows is now widely known inside the White House to be the unnamed source who spoke to reporters following …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump went through a “very concerning” period Friday and the next 48 hours “will be critical” in his care as he battles the coronavirus at a hospital, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Saturday. Meadows’ comments contradicted the rosy assessment of Trump’s condition offered by his staff and doctors, who took pains …

CNN reports: Attorney General William Barr is choosing not to quarantine after recently coming in close contact with members of President Donald Trump’s inner circle who have tested positive for Covid-19, including former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. Conway is among at least seven people who have contracted the virus after attending a Rose Garden event last Saturday where Trump …

Via press release from ICE: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a billboard campaign today in Pennsylvania to educate the public about the dangers of non-cooperation policies. The billboards feature at-large immigration violators who may pose a public safety threat. These individuals were previously arrested or convicted of crimes in the U.S., but were released into the community instead …

And the hits just keep coming: Kellyanne Conway has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus on the same day President Donald Trump was hospitalized with the disease. The former White House aide’s daughter, Claudia, posted a string of videos to TikTok on Friday about her mom “coughing all around the house.” Earlier on Friday, the famous 15-year-old TikToker posted a video …

ABC News reports: First lady Melania Trump said Friday morning that she, too, is experiencing “mild symptoms” of COVID-19. “Thank you for the love you are sending our way,” Mrs. Trump tweeted shortly after 11 a.m. “I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery.” Mrs. Trump, 50, and President Trump learned late …

The New York Times reports: On Wednesday evening, a small coterie of advisers spoke with one another about Ms. Hicks’s symptoms as they flew home aboard Air Force One. Ms. Hicks was isolated in a separate cabin. She exited from the back of the plane, as opposed to the front. By Thursday, it was clear that something unusual was happening …

CNBC reports: Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence have both tested negative for the coronavirus, Pence’s spokesman said Friday, hours after President Donald Trump announced he and the first lady tested positive. “As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day,” said Devin O’Malley, the vice president’s press secretary, in a …

USA Today reports: Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who wrote the book “Melania and Me,” secretly recorded conversations with Trump in the summer of 2018 after Wolkoff left her role as an adviser, CNN reported Thursday night. The recordings show the first lady expressing frustration over media perception on major issues like the administration’s child separation policy. “I’m working my ass off …