Trump Administration

Reuters reports: There were just over 59,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the United States on Monday, the country’s highest number ever of in-patients being treated for the disease, as new infections at record levels for the sixth consecutive day. The harsh statistics tallied by Reuters cemented the United States’ position as the nation worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic, …

NBC News reports: The head of the branch of the Justice Department that prosecutes election crimes resigned Monday hours after Attorney General William Barr issued a memo to federal prosecutors to investigate “specific allegations” of voter fraud before the results of the presidential race are certified. Richard Pilger, who was director of the Election Crimes Branch of the DOJ, sent …

The New York Times reports: The White House has removed the scientist responsible for the National Climate Assessment, the federal government’s premier contribution to climate knowledge and the foundation for regulations to combat global warming, in what critics interpreted as the latest sign that the Trump administration intends to use its remaining months in office to continue impeding climate science …

CNBC reports: Attorney General William Barr has authorized federal prosecutors across the U.S. to pursue “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities before the 2020 presidential election is certified, despite little evidence of fraud. Barr’s action comes days after Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump and raises the prospect that Trump will use the Justice Department to try to challenge the …

Mediaite reports: Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto abruptly cut away from a Trump campaign press conference led by Kayleigh McEnany Monday afternoon. Shortly after her baseless allegation that the Democratic party was “welcoming fraud and you are welcoming illegal voting,” Cavuto cut in abruptly by saying “whoa, whoa, whoa, I just think we have to be very clear.” “She’s charging …

The Washington Post reports: Trump erupted in anger, telling others in the White House to “get that result changed,” a senior administration official said. His chief of staff Mark Meadows phoned Fox News’s decision desk repeatedly. Top aide Hope Hicks, who had returned to the White House earlier this year after a stint at Fox Corp., messaged Raj Shah, a …

The Independent reports: Ben Carson has become the latest Trump administration official to test positive for Covid-19. The secretary of housing and urban development attended the election night party at the White House on Tuesday. Mr Carson’s deputy chief of staff says he is “in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly …

The Washington Post reports: The administrator of the General Services Administration, the low-profile agency in charge of federal buildings, has a little-known role when a new president is elected: to sign paperwork officially turning over millions of dollars, as well as give access to government officials, office space in agencies and equipment authorized for the taxpayer-funded transition teams of the …

CNN reports: Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, has approached the President about conceding the election, two sources tell CNN. The move comes following Trump’s assertion in a statement from his campaign — moments after CNN projected that President-elect Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States — that Biden is “rushing to falsely …

The Daily Mail reports: Meadows was with Trump on his final two-day, seven state, 10 rally campaign swing where he was spotted at the events without wearing a face mask. On that trip, Meadows had close contact with members of the Trump family who have not been diagnosed with COVID – including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Additionally, Meadows was …

The New York Times reports: As the eyes of a tired nation remained transfixed on the results of the presidential election, the United States set a daily record for new cases for the third straight day, with more than 132,700 new cases on Friday. And it reported more than 1,000 deaths for the fourth straight day, the first such stretch …

Bloomberg News reports: President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has told associates he has coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter, adding to the outbreaks connected to the White House. It wasn’t immediately clear when Meadows learned that he had contracted the virus or whether he had developed symptoms of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. …

CNN reports: The US set a grim new Covid-19 record Thursday — following a week marked by high case numbers — surpassing 120,000 infections in a single day. And it was the second day in a row the country reported more than 100,000 infections. Health experts had warned weeks ago that the nation’s daily cases would reach six digits, but …

NBC News reports: Defense Secretary Mark Esper has prepared a letter of resignation, according to three current defense officials. It’s not uncommon for Cabinet secretaries to prepare undated letters of resignation during a presidential transition, giving the commander in chief the chance to replace them for a second term. The president decides whether to accept the resignation letters, and the …

The Hill reports: Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Thursday guaranteed that President Trump would facilitate a peaceful transition of power if Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the election. “If the process runs, and I expect it to run, and at the end of that process Joe Biden’s the president, you can absolutely guarantee a peaceful transition …

The Washington Post reports: Westminster Management, an apartment company owned in part by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, has submitted hundreds of eviction filings in court against tenants with past due rent during the pandemic, according to interviews with more than a dozen tenants and a review of hundreds of the company’s filings. A state eviction moratorium currently bars …

The New York Times reports: The Justice Department told federal prosecutors in an email early on Wednesday that the law allowed them to send armed federal officers to ballot-counting locations around the country to investigate potential voter fraud, according to three people who described the message. The email created the specter of the federal government intimidating local election officials or …

The Washington Post reports: The United States recorded more than 100,000 new coronavirus infections in a single day for the first time on Wednesday as the nation waited to learn the results of a presidential election carried out in the shadow of a pandemic. The election had a dystopian feel even before infections reached record levels. On Tuesday, voters in …

Politico reports: A federal judge thrashed the U.S. Postal Service Wednesday, and suggested he might seek testimony from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for declining to comply with a last-minute court order to deploy postal inspectors to sweep facilities for undelivered ballots. “Someone may have a price to pay for that,” said Judge Emmet Sulliivan of the U.S. District Court of …

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. Postal Service turned down a federal judge’s order late Tuesday afternoon to sweep mail processing facilities serving 15 states, saying instead it would stick to its own inspection schedule. The judge’s order came after the agency disclosed that more than 300,000 ballots nationwide could not be traced. The agency cautioned that number was likely …