Trump Administration

From an official White House statement: When I thought about where I wanted to put my time and efforts, there was no hesitation. BE BEST has one simple purpose—to help children. It serves to provide the tools children need to prepare them for their futures. We all know that more often than not, information that could be helpful to children …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration has rejected California’s request for disaster relief aid for six major wildfires that scorched more than 1.8 million acres in land, destroyed thousands of structures and caused at least three deaths last month. The rejection of aid late Thursday, a rare move in cases of disasters on the scale of California’s fires, …

The New York Times reports: The consultant’s assessment quickly spread through parts of the investment world. U.S. stocks were already spiraling because of a warning from a federal public health official that the virus was likely to spread, but traders spotted the immediate significance: The president’s aides appeared to be giving wealthy party donors an early warning of a potentially …

The New York Times reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that he did not expect an economic relief package to be enacted before the Nov. 3 election as he and Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California have continued to struggle to reach an agreement on a broad package to support the economy. Negotiators on Wednesday resumed discussions over a …

The New York Times reports: The White House has embraced a declaration by a group of scientists arguing that authorities should allow the coronavirus to spread among young healthy people while protecting the elderly and the vulnerable — an approach that would rely on arriving at “herd immunity” through infections rather than a vaccine. Many experts say “herd immunity” — …

The Wall Street Journal reports: President Trump’s plan to send 33 million Medicare beneficiaries a card that can be used to help pay for as much as $200 in prescription drug costs won’t be completed until after the election, according to a person familiar with the plan. The cards will be mailed in phases, with some likely going out later …

Yahoo News reports: Trish Scalia, the wife of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday afternoon, the Labor Department told staffers in an email on Tuesday night. Trish Scalia is “experiencing mild symptoms but doing well,” the Labor Department said, while the secretary has tested negative for the virus and has not shown any symptoms. Trish Scalia, …

Glorious Leader will be ever so pissed: The federal prosecutor appointed by Attorney General William P. Barr to review whether Obama-era officials improperly requested the identities of individuals whose names were redacted in intelligence documents has completed his work without finding any substantive wrongdoing, according to people familiar with the matter. The revelation that U.S. Attorney John Bash, who left …

NPR reports: The Trump administration can end counting for the 2020 census after the Supreme Court approved a request for now to suspend a lower court order that extended the count’s schedule. The high court’s ruling, following an emergency request the Justice Department made last week, is the latest turn in a roller coaster of a legal fight over the …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday accused Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, author of a tell-all book about first lady Melania Trump, of breaking their nondisclosure agreement and asked a court to set aside profits from the book in a government trust. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Justice Department lawyers said Wolkoff, a former aide …

Axios reports: White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is leaning on the Pentagon to move ahead with a plan to stand up a 5G wireless network, sources tell Axios, and the idea, despite opposition from key government and private-sector players, could well outlive the Trump administration. The Department of Defense could lease out capacity to wireless carriers and other …

Politico reports: Senior Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday called on government auditors to quickly review the Trump administration’s hastily devised plan to award drug-discount cards to seniors, warning it could be an election-linked gambit and violate federal law. “Given the unusual nature of these taxpayer-funded payments to Medicare beneficiaries, we are concerned that the demonstration fails to comply with relevant federal …

The New York Times reports: For the American farmers President Trump counts on for support, the government money is flowing faster than ever. Federal payments to farmers are projected to hit a record $46 billion this year as the White House funnels money to Mr. Trump’s rural base in the South and Midwest ahead of Election Day. The gush of …

Just in from Gallup Polling: Americans’ willingness to be vaccinated against the coronavirus has dropped 11 percentage points, falling to 50% in late September. This sharp decline comes after the percentage dwindled from 66% in July to 61% in August. Meanwhile, according to Gallup Panel data from Aug. 17-30, the percentage of Americans who are inclined to delay returning to …

The Daily Beast reports: As Mike Pence spoke to retirees in Florida on Saturday, a banner towed by a plane flew over his head: “Pence is why you can’t see your grandkids.” The vice president addressed members of The Villages, the nation’s largest retirement community, warning the largely maskless crowd that the election would determine “whether America remains America.” It …

The Texas Tribune reports: A federal appeals court ruled late Friday that President Donald Trump’s use of his emergency powers to build his long-promised border wall with military funds is illegal, striking a blow to one of his signature campaign promises just weeks before the November election. The 2-1 decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes as …

The Hill reports: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy donated over $685,000 to the committee that ran the Republican National Convention, according to new files with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The new FEC filings show DeJoy, who was previously a prominent North Carolina businessman and Republican donor before taking the helm of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), gave a total of …

The Wall Street Journal reports: U.S. officials are aiming to open travel between New York City and London with shortened traveler quarantine periods as soon as the holidays, according to people familiar with the matter. The growing availability of Covid-19 tests in the U.S. has prompted officials at the Transportation Department, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to revive …

The New York Times reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a sweeping order last month requiring all passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of public and commercial transportation in the United States, but it was blocked by the White House, according to two federal health officials. The order would have been the toughest federal …

Politico reports: The White House Presidential Personnel Office is considering asking nearly every political appointee in the Trump administration to write and tender provisional letters of resignation right before the election, according to two senior administration officials. The personnel office would then decide which ones to accept and which to reject — giving President Donald Trump maximum flexibility in choosing …