Tag Archives: White House

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is suspending all travel between the U.S. and Europe for 30 days beginning Friday as he seeks to combat a viral pandemic. Trump made the announcement in an Oval Office address to the nation, blaming the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the novel coronavirus and saying …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump will make a prime-time address from the Oval Office on Wednesday about coronavirus amid widening concerns over an outbreak that is now a pandemic. Trump’s address will come hours after the World Health Organization formally declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic as the global death toll rose above 4,300. Confirmed cases in the U.S. …

Politico reports: The famous offices located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are grappling with the same calculation as every other workplace facing the coronavirus: whether to close the doors and work remotely. The White House is unlike any other office, and a decision to transform it into a remote operation could ripple across governments at the federal, state and national levels …

UPDATE. White House has cancelled the coronavirus task force briefing at 5:30pm, and the president will no longer go to the Naval Observatory for dinner with the Pences. His Oval Office address on economic and health steps to mitigate the crisis will be at 9pm. — Justin Sink (@justinsink) March 11, 2020 UPI reports: Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled …

Reuters reports: The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion, according to four Trump administration officials. The officials said that dozens of classified discussions about such topics as the scope of infections, quarantines and travel restrictions have …

Politico reports: “The President has not received COVID-19 testing because he has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms. President Trump remains in excellent health, and his physician will continue to closely monitor him,” said White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. Trump made an appearance at a news briefing Monday …

The Daily Beast reports: Asked by co-host Ainsley Earhardt if Trump would continue to hold campaign rallies during the coronavirus outbreak despite warnings about older Americans avoiding crowds, Grishan said, “Yes, he plans on still holding rallies.” “And I’ll tell you what, with our president, this man who doesn’t sleep and who I have seen work 15, 16 hours a …

The Associated Press reports: The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted the plan this week as a way of trying to control the …

The Associated Press reports: Melania Trump pushed back Saturday after photos she tweeted of herself overseeing a White House construction project generated an online backlash. On Thursday, the first lady tweeted a series of pics, including two of herself wearing a hard hat while reviewing blueprints for the construction of a tennis pavilion on the south grounds. Critics lashed out, …

The Daily Beast reports: President Trump named Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) as chief of staff on Friday evening. “I am pleased to announce that Congressman Mark Meadows will become White House Chief of Staff,” Trump wrote in a tweet. “I have long known and worked with Mark, and the relationship is a very good one.” He also said that ousted …

CBS News reports: Members of the Coronavirus Task Force, charged with leading the U.S. response to the global coronavirus outbreak, are scheduled to hold a press briefing at the White House Friday evening. At least 98,000 people in almost 90 countries have caught the COVID-19 disease, which is caused by the novel coronavirus. It has killed almost 3,300 people, and …

The New York Post reports: The White House is holding meetings on how to reduce the threat of coronavirus infecting President Trump and his staff after quietly tightening visitor rules last month, The Post has learned. In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the White House has mandated that guests disclose all countries visited in the past 30 days. And …

CNN reports: “We may go. They thought there was a problem at CDC, somebody that had the virus,” Trump said.  Trump added that the person in question at the CDC has tested negative for the virus. “They’ve tested the person very fully and it was a negative test,” Trump said. “I may be going. They’re going to see if they …

Politico reports: Adam Kennedy, who led the White House’s rapid response efforts on impeachment and other crises, including Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation battle, is leaving the government later this month, according to two White House officials. Kennedy will be replaced by Julia Hahn, a former Breitbart writer who is currently director of rapid response and surrogate operations for the White House, …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: President Donald Trump’s planned trip to Atlanta on Friday to visit the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been postponed because he didn’t want to get in the way of the agency’s work, White House officials said. The president was set to land at Dobbins Air Reserve Base around 3 p.m. after …

Via press release from Sec. Mike Pompeo: The State Department continues to support President Trump’s strong leadership and whole-of-government approach to protect Americans. There’s no higher duty for us. I’m sure you’ve all seen the President’s briefings and updates from CDC and HHS, and the good news that Deborah Birx from our team here at the State Department is now …

CNN reports: Confusion and delays appear to persist in testing Americans for coronavirus even after an outcry from state and local health authorities that the United States was behind in determining the extent of the outbreak. Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis, acknowledged Thursday there was a shortfall in the number of …

Politico reports: There was a notable omission as Vice President Mike Pence visited Seattle Thursday as part of the Trump administration’s coronavirus response: Health Secretary Alex Azar. The White House on Wednesday also benched Azar from a coronavirus task force press briefing, the latest sign of diminished standing for an official who was the face of the U.S. response just …

Roll Call reports: Vice President Pence and health officials are set to hold a press briefing Wednesday afternoon to address the Trump administration’s work to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The briefing comes as 11 people have died of coronavirus in the U.S. Officials in California confirmed the state’s first fatality and the country’s first outside Washington state on Wednesday. The …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump held a press briefing Saturday afternoon at the White House to discuss the latest updates surrounding the coronavirus. The president announced the planned briefing on Twitter just after 11 a.m. Trump held another press conference on the coronavirus earlier this week. As of Saturday, CNN reported there are at least four coronavirus cases …