Tag Archives: Trump administration

FDA Grants Emergency Approval To Anti-Malarial Drugs

The Washington Post reports: The Food and Drug Administration has given emergency approval to a Trump administration plan to distribute millions of doses of anti-malarial drugs to hospitals across the country, saying it is worth the risk of trying unproven treatments to slow the progression of the disease in seriously ill coronavirus patients. There have only been a few, very …

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Fauci “Argued Strongly” Against Trump’s Easter Plan

The Hill reports: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said Monday that the White House coronavirus task force aggressively lobbied President Trump to extend social-distancing guidelines another month as the U.S. grapples with the fallout of the novel coronavirus pandemic. “We felt that if we prematurely pulled back, we would only form an acceleration or rebound of …

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Trump Backs Off “Aspirational” Plan To Open By Easter

The Washington Post reports: President Trump says federal guidance urging social distancing will stay in place through April 30. He backed off his hope that the country will be “opened up” by Easter Sunday, saying that deaths due to the coronavirus will likely peak in two weeks. ”Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won,” he …

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POLL: Majority Don’t Believe Trump’s Lies About Virus

The Daily Beast reports: A clear majority of the American public, including self-identified Republicans, do not believe the disinformation that President Donald Trump keeps pushing around the spread of coronavirus. A full 73 percent of respondents, including 75 percent of Republicans, said that it was not true that “anyone who wants to get tested can get tested.” Just 17 percent …

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Fauci: US Could See 100,000 To 200,000 Virus Deaths

ABC News reports: The U.S. government’s foremost infection disease expert says the United States could experience more than 100,000 deaths and millions of infections from the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, offered his prognosis as the federal government weighs rolling back guidelines on social distancing in areas that have not been …

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Mnuchin: Reopening The US Will Be A Health Decision

The Associated Press reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says a decision whether to reopen the nation back for business as early as Easter will be a health decision not an economic one. Mnunchin acknowledges surging unemployment numbers and declining GDP as 1 in 3 Americans remain under government orders to stay at home to slow the coronavirus that has killed …

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Pelosi: “As The President Fiddles, People Are Dying”

The Washington Post reports: Nancy Pelosi today sharply criticized Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that his actions have resulted in the loss of American lives and warning against the relaxing of social-distancing guidelines. “His denial at the beginning was deadly. His delay in getting equipment to where it’s needed is deadly. I think the best thing [to do …

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Inside Trump’s “15 Days To Slow The Spread” Plan

Stunning reporting by Politico: It was the beginning of the 15-day period during which the White House hoped it could slow the advancing virus and stem the economic bleeding left in its wake. For the next two weeks, the president’s coronavirus task force encouraged Americans to essentially self-isolate, while aides worked with anxious governors across the country and quarreling lawmakers …

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DHS Adds Gunmakers To List Of “Critical” Industries

The New York Post reports: The Trump administration has added the firearms industry — gun shops included — to a federal list of critical infrastructure during the ongoing coronavirus emergency. The new language, added Saturday to the website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, now deems as critical “Workers supporting the operation of firearm or ammunition product manufacturers, retailers, …

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Senator: Trump Rejected Virus Funding On Feb. 5th

Yahoo News reports: Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, says that Trump administration officials declined an offer of early congressional funding assistance that he and other senators made on Feb. 5 during a meeting to discuss the coronavirus. The officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, said they “didn’t need emergency funding, that they would be able to …

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Trump Brags: I Just Signed Biggest Relief Bill In History

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Friday, as Washington tries to blunt economic destruction from the pandemic ripping through the United States. The House earlier passed the stimulus package, believed to be the largest in U.S. history, by voice vote, which simply measures if more lawmakers shout for “aye” or “nay” on whether …

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REPORT: How The CDC Botched Early Virus Response

ProPublica reports: On Feb. 13, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out an email with what the author described as an “URGENT” call for help. The agency was struggling with one of its most important duties: keeping track of Americans suspected of having the novel coronavirus. It had “an ongoing issue” with organizing — and sometimes flat-out …

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EPA Suspends Enforcement Of Environmental Rules

Never let a national crisis go to waste. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a sweeping suspension of its enforcement of environmental laws Thursday, telling companies they would not need to meet environmental standards during the coronavirus outbreak. The temporary policy, for which EPA has set no end date, would allow any number of industries to skirt environmental laws, with …

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Trump Tells Governors He’ll Set New Distancing Rules

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump told America’s governors in a letter on Thursday that his administration will soon set new social distancing guidelines as the coronavirus pandemic worsens. Trump said in the letter that new coronavirus testing capabilities would allow his administration to identify “high-risk, medium risk and low-risk” counties. And these new guidelines will assist governors and other …

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REPORT: US To Take Stake In Airlines With Bailout Deal

The Wall Street Journal reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated that the U.S. government would take stakes in airline carriers in exchange for billions of dollars in direct grants to the companies, as part of a $2 trillion economic rescue package, according to people familiar with the matter. He detailed his plans during last-minute negotiations when the aid to airlines …

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Mnuchin On Record Jobless Claims: Amazon Is Hiring

“To be honest with you, I just think these numbers right now are not relevant whether they’re bigger or smaller in the short term. Obviously, there people who have jobless claims, and, again, the good thing about the bill is the president is protecting those people. “They had no choice, now with this bill passed by Congress, there are protections, …

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Stimulus Bill Grants $500M To CDC For Virus Tracking

Business Insider reports: Of the funding allocated to the CDC, the bill sets aside at least $500 million for public health data surveillance and modernizing the analytics infrastructure. The CDC must report on the development of a “surveillance and data collection system” within the next 30 days. While it’s not clear what form that surveillance system will take, the federal …

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G7 Response Stalled Over Pompeo’s “Wuhan” Wording

The Hill reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pressed Group of Seven (G-7) leaders to refer to the novel coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus,” according to a report by the German magazine Der Spiegel. The G-7 leaders have thus far not been able to agree on a joint statement because of Pompeo’s insistence that the group should refer to the …

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White House Bible Study Leader Blames Virus On God’s Punishment For Homosexuality And Environmentalism

Raw Story reports: The minister who hosts a weekly bible study session for President Trump’s cabinet has an opinion about the origins of the coronavirus. According to Ralph Drollinger, it’s just another form of God’s wrath in response to an increasingly progressive nation. Drollinger railed against the “religion of environmentalism” and people who express a “proclivity toward lesbianism and homosexuality,” …

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Trump Hasn’t Released Disaster Unemployment Funds

Politico reports: The three states that President Donald Trump has formally declared coronavirus disaster areas have not received the disaster unemployment assistance that they expected to follow that designation. New York, California and Washington state all requested access to several aid programs provided under a disaster declaration, including disaster unemployment assistance. Disaster unemployment assistance allows workers who aren’t eligible for …

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