Trump Administration

Politico Europe reports: The U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands has been accused of interfering in national politics after hosting an event for the far-right Forum for Democracy party. The event, held at the American Embassy in Wassenaar on September 10, featured between 30 and 40 “party officials and wealthy entrepreneurs,” according to Dutch magazine De Groene Amsterdammer. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra …

Peter Montgomery reports at Right Wing Watch: Ralph Drollinger, a Bible study teacher who uses his extraordinary access to top government officials in the United States and abroad to push right-wing policies as biblically mandated, distributed a Bible study Monday telling readers that “it is imperative that committed Christians be praying for an outcome that glorifies our Lord, and that …

Raw Story reports: CNN correspondent Jim Acosta noted that Trump had recently told his supporters that COVID-19 affects “virtually nobody,” referring to young people. “Shouldn’t the president be telling people the truth about this virus at his rallies?” Acosta asked. “The president is telling people the truth,” the press secretary insisted. “He’s not telling the truth,” Acosta pressed. “Jim, but …

The New York Daily News reports: Gov. Cuomo ripped President Trump as a “bully” and “political opportunist” Monday as he dismissed the commander-in-chief’s attempt to label the Big Apple as an “anarchist jurisdiction” and strip the city of federal funds. “I believe the president is fundamentally a bully… you can’t bully New Yorkers,” the governor said during a conference call …

Mediaite reports: White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters Monday that the United States has “regained control of the virus,” blaming the United Kingdom and Europe on any stock market concerns. “I do think however there’s some worries that Britain might shut down. It’s coming out of London, I can’t verify it’s not my job, but I read the …

The Daily Beast reports: The managing editor of the prominent conservative website RedState has spent months trashing U.S. officials tasked with combating COVID-19, dubbing White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci a “mask nazi,” and intimating that government officials responsible for the pandemic response should be executed. But that writer, who goes by the pseudonym “streiff,” isn’t just …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. Postal Service must live up to its responsibilities to timely process election mail by treating it as a priority, a New York judge ordered on Monday, adding that the agency’s workers should be permitted to make extra deliveries and work overtime near the November presidential election. The written decision by U.S. District Judge Victor …

Trump’s truthers strike yet again. The Washington Post reports: The agency had posted new guidelines suggesting the virus can transmit over a distance larger than six feet and that indoor ventilation is key to protection against its spread. This is a point that many independent experts have also been advancing, and it had appeared that the agency had come around …

The Christian Post reports: Speaking at the Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed America’s responsibility to model Christian behavior and to be a light unto the world amid pressure from critics who say faith must be kept out of the public square. Jack Graham, the pastor of the Plano megachurch, introduced Secretary Pompeo, …

The New York Post reports: New York City was among three cities labeled “anarchist jurisdictions” by the Justice Department on Sunday and targeted to lose federal money for failing to control protesters and defunding cops, The Post has learned. Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., were the other two cities on the list, which was approved by US Attorney General William …

The Associated Press reports: The White House says President Donald Trump will announce his pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the “near future” but is declining to say whether the president will push for a Senate confirmation vote before Election Day. Marc Short is the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. He says a …

Reuters reports: Popular video-sharing app TikTok has asked a U.S. judge to block the Trump administration from enforcing a ban on the Chinese social media network, according to court documents filed late on Friday. TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., filed a complaint in a Washington federal court challenging the recent prohibitory moves by the Trump administration. The U.S. …

The Huffington Post reports: The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a tragedy for the country, which has lost a groundbreaking legal icon, and for the many causes she championed. It could also be a tragedy for the millions of people who depend on the Affordable Care Act for health insurance because of a lawsuit that the Supreme Court is …

NBC News reports: In the predawn hours of March 30, Dr. Deborah Birx stepped in front of the camera on the White House lawn and made an alarming prediction about the coronavirus, which had, by then, killed fewer than 3,000 people in the United States. “If we do things together, well, almost perfectly, we can get in the range of …

The New York Times reports: After months of heated accusations and painstaking negotiations, the White House and the pharmaceutical industry neared agreement late last month on a plan to make good on President Trump’s longstanding promise to lower drug prices. The drug companies would spend $150 billion to address out-of-pocket consumer costs and would even pick up the bulk of …

The Daily Beast reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday updated its coronavirus testing guidelines to say that individuals who do not present with symptoms should still be tested for COVID19 “due to the significance of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission.” The revised guidelines represent a capstone of sorts to a tumultuous few weeks for the agency, which …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Commerce Department said it will issue an order Friday that will bar people in the United States from downloading Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok starting on September 20. Commerce officials said the ban on new U.S. downloads of TikTok could be still rescinded by President Donald Trump before it takes effect late Sunday …

Religion News Service reports: The head of the Federal Election Commission chastised Catholic bishops during a pair of interviews this week, accusing church hierarchy of “hiding behind” their nonprofit status and declaring that this year’s U.S. election amounts to a “spiritual war” that threatens the country’s “Christian moral principles.” FEC Chairman James E. “Trey” Trainor III made the remarks during …

Vanity Fair reports on March 2020 meeting between Silicon Valley leaders and Jared Kushner: Kushner, seated at the head of the conference table, in a chair taller than all the others, was quick to strike a confrontational tone. “The federal government is not going to lead this response,” he announced. “It’s up to the states to figure out what they …

The New York Times reports: A heavily criticized recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month about who should be tested for the coronavirus was not written by C.D.C. scientists and was posted to the agency’s website despite their serious objections, according to several people familiar with the matter as well as internal documents obtained by The …