talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-22--How Jared Kushner Is Tackling the White House’s Coronavirus Response — Without Any Evident Experienc

How Jared Kushner Is Tackling the White House’s Coronavirus Response — Without Any Evident Experience

This story first appeared at ProPublica and WNYC .
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom .
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On April 2 , Jared Kushner uncharacteristically took to the podium to speak at the White House ’ s daily coronavirus briefing .
He ’ d been given the task , he said , of assisting Vice President Mike Pence ’ s Coronavirus Task Force with supply chain issues .
“ The president , ” Kushner said , “ wanted us to make sure we think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re finding all the best thinkers in the country , making sure we ’ re getting all the best ideas , and that we ’ re doing everything possible to make sure that we can keep Americans safe.
” That very day , he said , President Donald Trump told him that “ he was hearing from friends of his in New York that the New York public hospital system was running low on critical supply.
” So Kushner called Dr. Mitchell Katz , who runs the 12-hospital system , which serves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a million patients .
Kushner said he ’ d asked Katz which supply he was most nervous about : “ He told me it was the N95 masks .
I asked what his daily burn was .
And I basically got that number.
” Trump has made many false and misleading claims from that and other lecterns : 18,000 such statements during his presidency , according to the most recent tally by The Washington Post , 350 of them on the coronavirus alone .
But Kushner fulfilled his promise .
The confirmation came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former candidate to be the Democratic nominee against Trump , New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio .
The day after Kushner ’ s briefing , de Blasio said Kushner and Trump had called him about the supplies .
“ And lo and behold , Dr. Mitch Katz sent me a photo a couple hours ago that they had been delivered to Health and Hospitals , so that ’ s going to really help us get through a lot of the month of April .
I ’ m very thankful for that.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the mayor ’ s press secretary , confirmed the receipt of 1 million N95 masks and over 500,000 Tyvek gowns .
She said of Kushner , “ He ’ s been very responsive and helpful thus far.
” Praise for Kushner has been resounding from Democratic officials in New York and New Jersey .
De Blasio has thanked him repeatedly , as have New Jersey Gov .
Phil Murphy and Sen. Cory Booker .
Even New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo , in his alternating dance of praise and opprobrium for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for accolades ( and no barbs ) .
As a senior official in the Murphy administration put it : “ I have found Jared to be incredibly responsive .
We talk a few times a day on the phone.
” The official said text exchanges are even more frequent .
In a chaotic environment , the New Jersey boy turned Manhattan businessman turned senior White House adviser is using his clout to help the cities and states at the epicenter of a global pandemic get the aid they need .
Yet there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kushner ’ s role is also a symptom of the dysfunction of the Trump administration , according to critics , some of whom worked in emergency management under Republican and Democratic administrations .
The ad hoc nature of Kushner ’ s mission and its lack of transparency make it hard for people — and government agencies — to know exactly what he ’ s doing .
So far , those officials say , there ’ s little sign Kushner or anyone at the White House is helping New York or New Jersey with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing and billions from Congress to ease the gaping holes that have emerged in local budgets .
“ If you can reach Jared , if you can applaud Jared , if you can convince him that you ’ re the most needy , he will deliver for you , ” said Juliette Kayyem , faculty chair of the homeland security project at Harvard University ’ s Kennedy School of Government and a former assistant secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration .
But his role bypasses long-held tenets of how the federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she said , without addressing systemic problems , much less reinventing the bureaucracy .
“ What ’ s outside the box ?
What process is outside the box ?
It can ’ t possibly be Kushner ’ s [ giving out his ] cellphone number , ” Kayyem said .
“ But that ’ s what it appears to be.
” She added : “ The system is designed not to work that way because in any disaster , and in particular , one that ’ s in 50 states , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s demand today and there will be demand tomorrow .
You need a centralized repository more than a single guy on a phone to determine what your needs are and where you ’ re going to deliver , and you can ’ t do that by transactional relationships.
” To state the obvious : Kushner can ’ t possibly return calls and fulfill requests from 50 governors , hundreds of mayors and thousands of emergency officials around the country .
It ’ s not just a problem of scalability , Kayyem said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disrupt it , ” she said of the supply chain .
“ Confusion is the last thing you want , when you ’ re talking about a supply chain.
” In both New York and New Jersey , officials said , FEMA was unaware that supplies promised by Kushner ’ s group had been shipped , days after the shipments had been made .
Neither the White House nor FEMA responded to requests for comment .
It ’ s easy to malign government operations in the midst of a national calamity , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a reason that the systems are organized the way they have been : They can work if they ’ re managed well .
Peter Ragone worked as communications director for de Blasio when the Ebola virus seemed to threaten New York .
“ What struck me then is that the federal government was an incredible partner , ” said Ragone , who has since become a Democratic political strategist .
“ We were on the phone with the Centers for Disease Control , the White House , HHS , all the time nonstop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came to our press conferences.
” Now , in the middle of a national emergency , the federal system meant to fight disasters has a free agent — one with no evident experience in any aspect of it — playing a potent but undefined role .
Putting a powerful person outside the existing White House structure “ poses a challenge , ” said Mark Harvey , who was the senior director for resilience on the Trump administration ’ s national security staff until January and is now a resident fellow at the Harvard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the great successful practices that we had in the White House across administrations , ” said Harvey , who cautions that the current disaster is unprecedented in scope and duration , “ was that whenever there was a domestic crisis , we had one single point of coordination within the White House that would then work with all of the interagency partners across the federal government .
And it didn ’ t matter where information came into the white house .
It all came to that central point.
” In January , ProPublica @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most powerful man in the administration , and his portfolio has only grown since then .
He ’ s never been as central to the nation ’ s future as he is at this moment .
As we reported then , people who worked with Kushner said he views himself as a disrupter .
His grandparents survived Nazi-occupied Poland , escaped and immigrated to America against all odds .
His father , unlike other New Jersey Jewish developers at the time , aggressively raised his profile and his family fortune .
And Jared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saw as impossible , foolhardy risks : In his mid-20s , he became the publisher of a weekly newspaper , The New York Observer in an era when newspapers were cratering , and pushed his editors in chief — five of them in as many years — to focus less on substantive articles and more on helping his friends and punishing his enemies .
Then he purchased a Manhattan skyscraper ( 666 Fifth Avenue ) on the eve of the Great Recession .
The building nearly failed under the Kushners ’ ownership before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
The lesson he took from this , according to someone familiar with the deal , “ was not ‘ holy shit , I almost lost everything , ’ it was ‘ I should take on as much risk as I can.
’ ” Over a dozen people who have worked with Kushner in New York and New Jersey say he has long relied on phone relationships .
“ So much of Jared ’ s business was relationships , ” one associate said .
“ In order to be able to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to call somebody.
” Another added : “ He has a huge rolodex .
… He would be like : ‘ I will just make a call .
I will call so-and-so.
’ He was young and rich and powerful , and he got along with people .
That was a big part of his M.O .
: to make a call , to make something happen.
” At the White House briefing , Kushner shifted the responsibility for gathering supplies squarely to the states .
“ The notion of the federal stockpile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our stockpile , ” he said .
“ It ’ s not supposed to be state stockpiles that they then use.
” “ That ’ s exactly what it ’ s meant for , ” Kansas Gov .
Laura Kelly retorted the next day on the public radio show “ Here and Now.
” “ And always has been and has to continue to be .
The federal government actually has a responsibility to gather that stuff together and distribute it.
” The day after Kushner ’ s press briefing , the Strategic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Department of Health and Human Services , quietly changed its website .
It had stated : “ The Strategic National Stockpile is the nation ’ s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.
” After Kushner described it differently , the language was adjusted to match what he ’ d said : “ The Strategic National Stockpile ’ s role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies.
” Rather than fix @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the description to lower the bar for itself .
Kelly , a Democrat , said she did not have a line to Kushner or into the White House .
So to get her state ’ s needs met , she went through Kansas ’ Republican congressional delegation .
After multiple rounds of requests through the state ’ s senators over a period of weeks , federal supplies arrived days ago .
Still , a lack of federal assistance remains a common complaint among governors and there ’ s little indication that Kushner has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interview in late March , Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer said she was told the White House is preventing her state from getting aid .
Whitmer , who is seen as a potential Democratic vice presidential nominee , said vendors are “ being told not to send stuff to Michigan .
It ’ s really concerning.
” Trump said at one press conference , within a day of Whitmer ’ s interview , that he told Pence , “ Don ’ t call the woman in Michigan.
” As of April 19 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal government wasn ’ t helping her state obtain needed testing supplies .
Meanwhile , Trump was openly supporting protests against Whitmer .
During the same TV interview in which Whitmer spoke , a Republican governor , Mike DeWine of Ohio , echoed Whitmer ’ s pleas for federal supplies , all but begging the Food and Drug Administration to provide key testing supplies .
“ If anybody in the FDA is watching , ” DeWine said , “ this could really take our capacity up.
” Neither governor mentioned Kushner ( and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The head of the National Governors Association , Maryland Gov .
Larry Hogan , said he has had one conversation with Kushner , which helped his state get 138 ventilators , according to reporting by Luke Broadwater of The Baltimore Sun .
Hogan , a Republican , has sparred with Trump , and this week Maryland obtained coronavirus tests from South Korea without federal assistance .
“ If there was an easier way , ” Hogan said , “ we certainly would ’ ve taken it.
” ( Hogan did not reply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Officially , Kushner is not addressing the supply chain issues all by himself .
He has a task force .
But details have been scant .
On April 16 , Democratic Sens .
Elizabeth Warren , Richard Blumenthal and Tom Carper wrote to the White House expressing concerns about Kushner ’ s task force .
“ Mr .
Kushner ’ s task force , ” they wrote , “ reportedly includes ‘ a suite of McKinsey consultants , ’ a private equity executive , and a host of other representatives from private industries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voluntary service agreements ’ and have avoided participating in procurement processes , questions remain as to who exactly comprises this task force , the vetting process for its members , and what role the members play in addressing issues related to the pandemic .
“ Moreover , reports indicate that Mr. Kushner ’ s task force has been ‘ attract [ ing ] companies seeking to entrench themselves in hopes of winning lucrative government contracts down the line , ’ ” the senators continued .
“ underscoring the need for robust ethics oversight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appear to have substantial , and often disruptive , influence over White House policy initiatives related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
” Kushner has had many roles in the Trump administration .
Before working on the virus , he took on the job of chief White House liaison to Trump/Pence 2020 .
The campaign has been active , raising money , noting , as campaign aide Lara Trump ( the wife of the president ’ s son Eric ) recently did , that the coronavirus daily briefings have supplanted rallies as a way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kushner is still overseeing the campaign while also working on obtaining masks and gowns for struggling localities , a friend of the Kushner family texted back : “ 100 % .
” You can contact us via Signal , WhatsApp or voicemail at 347-244-2134 .
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And finally , you can use the postal service : Trump Inc at ProPublica 155 Ave of the Americas , 13th Floor New York , NY 10013 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ production of WNYC Studios and ProPublica .
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This story first appeared at ProPublica and WNYC. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
On April 2, Jared Kushner uncharacteristically took to the podium to speak at the White House’s daily coronavirus briefing. He’d been given the task, he said, of assisting Vice President Mike Pence’s Coronavirus Task Force with supply chain issues. “The president,” Kushner said, “wanted us to make sure we think outside the box, make sure we’re finding all the best thinkers in the country, making sure we’re getting all the best ideas, and that we’re doing everything possible to make sure that we can keep Americans safe.”
That very day, he said, President Donald Trump told him that “he was hearing from friends of his in New York that the New York public hospital system was running low on critical supply.” So Kushner called Dr. Mitchell Katz, who runs the 12-hospital system, which serves, in a normal year, over a million patients. Kushner said he’d asked Katz which supply he was most nervous about: “He told me it was the N95 masks. I asked what his daily burn was. And I basically got that number.”
Trump has made many false and misleading claims from that and other lecterns: 18,000 such statements during his presidency, according to the most recent tally by The Washington Post, 350 of them on the coronavirus alone.
But Kushner fulfilled his promise. The confirmation came from a perhaps unlikely source, a former candidate to be the Democratic nominee against Trump, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The day after Kushner’s briefing, de Blasio said Kushner and Trump had called him about the supplies. “And lo and behold, Dr. Mitch Katz sent me a photo a couple hours ago that they had been delivered to Health and Hospitals, so that’s going to really help us get through a lot of the month of April. I’m very thankful for that.” In a follow-up email, Freddi Goldstein, the mayor’s press secretary, confirmed the receipt of 1 million N95 masks and over 500,000 Tyvek gowns. She said of Kushner, “He’s been very responsive and helpful thus far.”
Praise for Kushner has been resounding from Democratic officials in New York and New Jersey. De Blasio has thanked him repeatedly, as have New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Sen. Cory Booker. Even New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in his alternating dance of praise and opprobrium for the White House, has singled out Kushner for accolades (and no barbs). As a senior official in the Murphy administration put it: “I have found Jared to be incredibly responsive. We talk a few times a day on the phone.” The official said text exchanges are even more frequent.
In a chaotic environment, the New Jersey boy turned Manhattan businessman turned senior White House adviser is using his clout to help the cities and states at the epicenter of a global pandemic get the aid they need.
Yet there’s another side to the equation. Kushner’s role is also a symptom of the dysfunction of the Trump administration, according to critics, some of whom worked in emergency management under Republican and Democratic administrations. The ad hoc nature of Kushner’s mission and its lack of transparency make it hard for people — and government agencies — to know exactly what he’s doing. So far, those officials say, there’s little sign Kushner or anyone at the White House is helping New York or New Jersey with their urgent longer-term needs, particularly more testing and billions from Congress to ease the gaping holes that have emerged in local budgets.
“If you can reach Jared, if you can applaud Jared, if you can convince him that you’re the most needy, he will deliver for you,” said Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the homeland security project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a former assistant secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration. But his role bypasses long-held tenets of how the federal government should work in a national emergency, she said, without addressing systemic problems, much less reinventing the bureaucracy. “What’s outside the box? What process is outside the box? It can’t possibly be Kushner’s [giving out his] cellphone number,” Kayyem said. “But that’s what it appears to be.”
She added: “The system is designed not to work that way because in any disaster, and in particular, one that’s in 50 states, there’s demand everywhere. And there’s demand today and there will be demand tomorrow. You need a centralized repository more than a single guy on a phone to determine what your needs are and where you’re going to deliver, and you can’t do that by transactional relationships.”
To state the obvious: Kushner can’t possibly return calls and fulfill requests from 50 governors, hundreds of mayors and thousands of emergency officials around the country.
It’s not just a problem of scalability, Kayyem said. “It’s dangerous to disrupt it,” she said of the supply chain. “Confusion is the last thing you want, when you’re talking about a supply chain.” In both New York and New Jersey, officials said, FEMA was unaware that supplies promised by Kushner’s group had been shipped, days after the shipments had been made.
Neither the White House nor FEMA responded to requests for comment.
It’s easy to malign government operations in the midst of a national calamity, but, experts say, there’s a reason that the systems are organized the way they have been: They can work if they’re managed well. Peter Ragone worked as communications director for de Blasio when the Ebola virus seemed to threaten New York. “What struck me then is that the federal government was an incredible partner,” said Ragone, who has since become a Democratic political strategist. “We were on the phone with the Centers for Disease Control, the White House, HHS, all the time nonstop. In fact, the CDC even came to our press conferences.”
Now, in the middle of a national emergency, the federal system meant to fight disasters has a free agent — one with no evident experience in any aspect of it — playing a potent but undefined role.
Putting a powerful person outside the existing White House structure “poses a challenge,” said Mark Harvey, who was the senior director for resilience on the Trump administration’s national security staff until January and is now a resident fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics. “One of the great successful practices that we had in the White House across administrations,” said Harvey, who cautions that the current disaster is unprecedented in scope and duration, “was that whenever there was a domestic crisis, we had one single point of coordination within the White House that would then work with all of the interagency partners across the federal government. And it didn’t matter where information came into the white house. It all came to that central point.”
In January, ProPublica and WNYC described Kushner as the second most powerful man in the administration, and his portfolio has only grown since then. He’s never been as central to the nation’s future as he is at this moment. As we reported then, people who worked with Kushner said he views himself as a disrupter. His grandparents survived Nazi-occupied Poland, escaped and immigrated to America against all odds. His father, unlike other New Jersey Jewish developers at the time, aggressively raised his profile and his family fortune. And Jared Kushner found success by taking what others saw as impossible, foolhardy risks: In his mid-20s, he became the publisher of a weekly newspaper, The New York Observer in an era when newspapers were cratering, and pushed his editors in chief — five of them in as many years — to focus less on substantive articles and more on helping his friends and punishing his enemies.
Then he purchased a Manhattan skyscraper (666 Fifth Avenue) on the eve of the Great Recession. The building nearly failed under the Kushners’ ownership before they managed, barely, to refinance it. The lesson he took from this, according to someone familiar with the deal, “was not ‘holy shit, I almost lost everything,’ it was ‘I should take on as much risk as I can.’”
Over a dozen people who have worked with Kushner in New York and New Jersey say he has long relied on phone relationships. “So much of Jared’s business was relationships,” one associate said. “In order to be able to get deals done you have to be able to call somebody.” Another added: “He has a huge rolodex. … He would be like: ‘I will just make a call. I will call so-and-so.’ He was young and rich and powerful, and he got along with people. That was a big part of his M.O.: to make a call, to make something happen.”
At the White House briefing, Kushner shifted the responsibility for gathering supplies squarely to the states. “The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile,” he said. “It’s not supposed to be state stockpiles that they then use.”
“That’s exactly what it’s meant for,” Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly retorted the next day on the public radio show “Here and Now.” “And always has been and has to continue to be. The federal government actually has a responsibility to gather that stuff together and distribute it.”
The day after Kushner’s press briefing, the Strategic National Stockpile, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, quietly changed its website. It had stated: “The Strategic National Stockpile is the nation’s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.” After Kushner described it differently, the language was adjusted to match what he’d said: “The Strategic National Stockpile’s role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies.” Rather than fix the system, the federal government rewrote the description to lower the bar for itself.
Kelly, a Democrat, said she did not have a line to Kushner or into the White House. So to get her state’s needs met, she went through Kansas’ Republican congressional delegation. After multiple rounds of requests through the state’s senators over a period of weeks, federal supplies arrived days ago.
Still, a lack of federal assistance remains a common complaint among governors and there’s little indication that Kushner has made a difference. In a radio interview in late March, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was told the White House is preventing her state from getting aid. Whitmer, who is seen as a potential Democratic vice presidential nominee, said vendors are “being told not to send stuff to Michigan. It’s really concerning.” Trump said at one press conference, within a day of Whitmer’s interview, that he told Pence, “Don’t call the woman in Michigan.” As of April 19, Whitmer was still expressing concern that the federal government wasn’t helping her state obtain needed testing supplies. Meanwhile, Trump was openly supporting protests against Whitmer.
During the same TV interview in which Whitmer spoke, a Republican governor, Mike DeWine of Ohio, echoed Whitmer’s pleas for federal supplies, all but begging the Food and Drug Administration to provide key testing supplies. “If anybody in the FDA is watching,” DeWine said, “this could really take our capacity up.” Neither governor mentioned Kushner (and neither responded to requests for comment).
The head of the National Governors Association, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, said he has had one conversation with Kushner, which helped his state get 138 ventilators, according to reporting by Luke Broadwater of The Baltimore Sun. Hogan, a Republican, has sparred with Trump, and this week Maryland obtained coronavirus tests from South Korea without federal assistance. “If there was an easier way,” Hogan said, “we certainly would’ve taken it.” (Hogan did not reply to a request for comment.)
Officially, Kushner is not addressing the supply chain issues all by himself. He has a task force. But details have been scant. On April 16, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Tom Carper wrote to the White House expressing concerns about Kushner’s task force. “Mr. Kushner’s task force,” they wrote, “reportedly includes ‘a suite of McKinsey consultants,’ a private equity executive, and a host of other representatives from private industries. Though they have purportedly signed ‘voluntary service agreements’ and have avoided participating in procurement processes, questions remain as to who exactly comprises this task force, the vetting process for its members, and what role the members play in addressing issues related to the pandemic.
“Moreover, reports indicate that Mr. Kushner’s task force has been ‘attract[ing] companies seeking to entrench themselves in hopes of winning lucrative government contracts down the line,’” the senators continued. “underscoring the need for robust ethics oversight. Mr. Kushner and his task force appear to have substantial, and often disruptive, influence over White House policy initiatives related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Kushner has had many roles in the Trump administration. Before working on the virus, he took on the job of chief White House liaison to Trump/Pence 2020. The campaign has been active, raising money, noting, as campaign aide Lara Trump (the wife of the president’s son Eric) recently did, that the coronavirus daily briefings have supplanted rallies as a way to energize Trump supporters.
When asked if Kushner is still overseeing the campaign while also working on obtaining masks and gowns for struggling localities, a friend of the Kushner family texted back: “100%.”
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talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-22--Pelosi Puts Trump On Blast: ‘The President Gets An F’ On Outbreak Preparedness

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-CA ) hit President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning for his botched handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. “ There ’ s a Boy Scouts saying : Proper preparation prevents poor performance , ” said Pelosi during an appearance on MSNBC ’ s “ Morning Joe.
” “ Well , that ’ s exactly where the President gets an F , ” she continued .
“ He was not properly prepared .
Not with the truth , the facts , or the admission of what was happening in our country.
” Then Pelosi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frequently watches cable news to keep up with current affairs .
“ It ’ s never too late , as I keep saying , to tell the truth , Mr. President , ” she said .
“ And it ’ s never too late to do the right thing and to pay attention to science , science , science , and science.
” Exactly one week ago , Pelosi blasted Trump in a letter to her Democratic House colleagues , saying that the President had taken “ insufficient action ” on the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disaster.
” She and Trump have had little face-to-face contact since the State of the Union address in February , during which the House speaker tore up a copy of Trump ’ s speech .

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) hit President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning for his botched handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S.
“There’s a Boy Scouts saying: Proper preparation prevents poor performance,” said Pelosi during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“Well, that’s exactly where the President gets an F,” she continued. “He was not properly prepared. Not with the truth, the facts, or the admission of what was happening in our country.”
“Delay, denial, death,” the Democratic leader added.
Then Pelosi addressed Trump directly, knowing that he frequently watches cable news to keep up with current affairs.
“It’s never too late, as I keep saying, to tell the truth, Mr. President,” she said. “And it’s never too late to do the right thing and to pay attention to science, science, science, and science.”
Exactly one week ago, Pelosi blasted Trump in a letter to her Democratic House colleagues, saying that the President had taken “insufficient action” on the coronavirus outbreak and “caused unnecessary death and disaster.”
She and Trump have had little face-to-face contact since the State of the Union address in February, during which the House speaker tore up a copy of Trump’s speech.
Watch Pelosi below:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-23--Get Ready, America: COVID-19 May Deprive Us Of Quick Election Night Results

What a more fitting 20th anniversary commemoration of the 2000 election debacle than a Nov. 3 election night during which Americans are told they won ’ t know the winner of the presidential race — and many other races — for several days , if not weeks .
That ’ s the scenario election officials are beginning to grapple with as they prepare for an election cycle where the number of ballots cast by mail will grow exponentially due to the pandemic .
They ’ re thinking through how to break the American psyche free of its addiction to instant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the obsessive live monitoring that happens on Twitter .
They ’ re also considering what statutory changes they ’ ll need to push for to smooth out the process .
The handful of states that have experience with vote-by-mail elections are a lesson for how long tabulating the results can take .
But the turnaround time for states and localities new to the system — where they ’ ll likely be short-staffed , inexperienced and without key equipment — could be even longer .
“ It could be days before we know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think that ’ s one of the things that we need to be messaging , ” Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman ( R ) , whose state already does vote-by-mail , told TPM this week .
TV news networks build their entire election night programing around being able to declare the results , state-by-state , that evening .
Wyman and other election officials with experience with large mail-in-balloting programs told TPM that they had become used to the mockery that comes when their jurisdictions take days rather than hours to push out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election , for example , there was all this criticism by people…who were saying , ‘ Why can ’ t California , why can ’ t Arizona , why can ’ t Washington , get their act together and tell us who won these elections ?
” recalled Judd Choate , the director of elections in the vote-by-mail state of Colorado .
“ Well , because they ’ re processing ballots.
” But election officials need to be prepared for more than just flack from media pundits , these vote-by-mail veterans warn .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election will be in jeopardy if any delay is perceived to be a sign of chaos rather than something that should be expected .
“ Given the the current political atmosphere and the strong emotions that ride on the election , we know that , quite likely , the more time you take , the more likely you are to start being criticized or being accused of something being amiss , ” said Jake Rollow , a spokesperson for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson ( D ) , told TPM .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions vote-by-mail experts recommend that election officials with less absentee voting experience consider .
One is to buy more equipment , like high-speed tabulators and mail-sorting machines , that could speed up the process .
But those purchases are costly , some of them in the seven-figures , and need to happen soon , given the potential for supply chain issues once Nov. 3 is closer .
Another is to push for administrative or legislative changes that can give election officials , who are overwhelmed by the influx of absentee ballots , more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true in states that won ’ t let officials begin processing the ballots until Election Day morning .
The procedure includes opening exterior and interior envelopes , matching the signature , sorting the ballots into piles , and running them through the tabulation machines .
In Michigan , where absentee voting was already expanding due to a constitutional amendment recently approved by voters , only a few processing steps can be done in advance .
Even before the outbreak , the secretary of state was warning that election officials might not be able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ primary on the night of that election .
Though ultimately there were no delays in the posting the primary results , her office is expecting the volume of mail-ballots to double in November ’ s election .
The need to physically space out election workers because of the virus could also slow down the process , Benson ’ s spokesperson told TPM .
Similar alarm bells are ringing for Pennsylvania , another swing state that was pre-pandemic anticipating a surge in absentee voting because of a recent law change .
The whole process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begin until 7 a.m. Election Day morning .
Florida — a swing state where prior to the election , one-third of the electorate voted by mail — has a process that poses a challenge on the other side of Election Day .
Election officials can start processing absentee ballots well before Election Day , but the deadline for certifying those results is the following Friday .
“ If I was in Florida , I would be thinking , not only do I have to help my counties scale up for vote by mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out this post-election calendar , ” Choate , the Colorado elections director said , while predicting that absentee voting could make up 60 or 70 percent of the ballots cast .
Steven Vancore , spokesperson for the Broward County elections supervisor , said if absentee ballot voting increased by 10 percentage points , then there would be no additional delay in posting results .
Any greater spike might require the purchase of a mail sorter which costs around $ 1 million , he said , as well as additional staffing .
“ So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be easy , ” he said , adding , “ The job would be a lot easier if we didn ’ t have to get in the results like , you know , like an ESPN scoreboard .
”

What a more fitting 20th anniversary commemoration of the 2000 election debacle than a Nov. 3 election night during which Americans are told they won’t know the winner of the presidential race — and many other races — for several days, if not weeks.
That’s the scenario election officials are beginning to grapple with as they prepare for an election cycle where the number of ballots cast by mail will grow exponentially due to the pandemic.
They’re thinking through how to break the American psyche free of its addiction to instant election results blasted out on cable news and the obsessive live monitoring that happens on Twitter. They’re also considering what statutory changes they’ll need to push for to smooth out the process.
The handful of states that have experience with vote-by-mail elections are a lesson for how long tabulating the results can take. But the turnaround time for states and localities new to the system — where they’ll likely be short-staffed, inexperienced and without key equipment — could be even longer.
“It could be days before we know election results, and right now I think that’s one of the things that we need to be messaging,” Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman (R), whose state already does vote-by-mail, told TPM this week.
TV news networks build their entire election night programing around being able to declare the results, state-by-state, that evening. Wyman and other election officials with experience with large mail-in-balloting programs told TPM that they had become used to the mockery that comes when their jurisdictions take days rather than hours to push out results.
“Especially after the 2018 election, for example, there was all this criticism by people…who were saying, ‘Why can’t California, why can’t Arizona, why can’t Washington, get their act together and tell us who won these elections?” recalled Judd Choate, the director of elections in the vote-by-mail state of Colorado. “Well, because they’re processing ballots.”
But election officials need to be prepared for more than just flack from media pundits, these vote-by-mail veterans warn. The confidence of the American public in the election will be in jeopardy if any delay is perceived to be a sign of chaos rather than something that should be expected.
“Given the the current political atmosphere and the strong emotions that ride on the election, we know that, quite likely, the more time you take, the more likely you are to start being criticized or being accused of something being amiss,” said Jake Rollow, a spokesperson for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), told TPM.
Beyond the expectation-setting, there are other actions vote-by-mail experts recommend that election officials with less absentee voting experience consider. One is to buy more equipment, like high-speed tabulators and mail-sorting machines, that could speed up the process. But those purchases are costly, some of them in the seven-figures, and need to happen soon, given the potential for supply chain issues once Nov. 3 is closer.
Another is to push for administrative or legislative changes that can give election officials, who are overwhelmed by the influx of absentee ballots, more breathing room.
That’s particularly true in states that won’t let officials begin processing the ballots until Election Day morning. The procedure includes opening exterior and interior envelopes, matching the signature, sorting the ballots into piles, and running them through the tabulation machines.
In Michigan, where absentee voting was already expanding due to a constitutional amendment recently approved by voters, only a few processing steps can be done in advance. Even before the outbreak, the secretary of state was warning that election officials might not be able to produce results of the March 10 primary on the night of that election. Though ultimately there were no delays in the posting the primary results, her office is expecting the volume of mail-ballots to double in November’s election. The need to physically space out election workers because of the virus could also slow down the process, Benson’s spokesperson told TPM.
Similar alarm bells are ringing for Pennsylvania, another swing state that was pre-pandemic anticipating a surge in absentee voting because of a recent law change. The whole process of opening and counting ballots cannot begin until 7 a.m. Election Day morning.
Florida — a swing state where prior to the election, one-third of the electorate voted by mail — has a process that poses a challenge on the other side of Election Day. Election officials can start processing absentee ballots well before Election Day, but the deadline for certifying those results is the following Friday.
“If I was in Florida, I would be thinking, not only do I have to help my counties scale up for vote by mail, but I have got to figure out this post-election calendar,” Choate, the Colorado elections director said, while predicting that absentee voting could make up 60 or 70 percent of the ballots cast.
Steven Vancore, spokesperson for the Broward County elections supervisor, said if absentee ballot voting increased by 10 percentage points, then there would be no additional delay in posting results. Any greater spike might require the purchase of a mail sorter which costs around $1 million, he said, as well as additional staffing.
“So preparing for that is not going to be easy,” he said, adding, “The job would be a lot easier if we didn’t have to get in the results like, you know, like an ESPN scoreboard.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-23--WATCH LIVE: Trump Holds Coronavirus Briefing At White House

TPM is making our COVID-19 coverage free to all readers during this national health crisis .
If you ’ d @ @ @ @ @ reporters , editors and staff , the best way to do so is to become @ @ @

President Donald Trump speaks during the daily briefing of the White House Coronavirus Task Force on April 10, 2020 at the White House. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-23--A Top Government Scientist Sends A Sharp Warning About ‘Politicized’ COVID-19 Work

This piece is part of our weekly Prime series on corruption and the Trump Swamp , but it has been moved outside of the paywall while we cover COVID-19 .
A top government scientist sent a warning to the public this week that the Trump administration ’ s COVID-19 response had been politicized and corrupted by well-connected business interests .
The statement from Dr. Rick Bright was stunning in its frankness .
The administration had put “ politics and cronyism ahead of science , ” he said .
Rather than invest in “ safe and scientifically vetted solutions , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other technologies that lack scientific merit.
” Bright , who had just been demoted from his post as the head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ( BARDA ) when he made his statement to The New York Times , paid particular attention to chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine , anti-malaria drugs now largely used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis .
“ Specifically , and contrary to misguided directives , I limited the broad use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine , promoted by the administration as a panacea , but which clearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The President has consistently hyped the pills as potential wonder drugs against COVID-19 , but the clinical data so far is mixed at best and simply doesn ’ t support their widespread use against the disease .
Nonetheless , Trump has insisted .
Pressed Tuesday on a study that did not find the anti-malarial drug effective against COVID-19 , Trump offered more generic praise and then dodged .
“ Obviously there have been some very good reports and perhaps this one ’ s not a good report , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at it.
” It could be pressure from Joseph Pizza , a Trump donor and sales representative for companies that produce pharmaceutical agents including hydroxychloroquine sulfate .
The Job Creators Network , a dark money group funded in part by the pharmaceutical industry trade group PhRMA , has also pushed the drugs .
Alternatively , as The New York Times reported earlier this month , Trump first expressed interest in hydroxychloroquine in March , “ telling associates that Mr. [ Larry ] Ellison , a billionaire and a founder of Oracle , had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discussion , an unnamed source close to Dr .
Bright told NBC News Thursday , Bright was instructed “ to implement a national program aimed at expanding access to the drug without proper controls in place and despite the lack of peer-reviewed clinical data on the drug ’ s effectiveness.
” That broadly describes the emergency authorization the FDA gave BARDA late last month in order to allow millions of pills donated to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile to be distributed to hospitals for use with COVID-19 patients .
While doctors can individually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” COVID-19 use , the U.S. government can ’ t distribute drugs for off-label use .
The emergency authorization , addressed to Bright by name , allowed millions of pills to flow to hospitals .
In his statement to the Times , Bright said he will request an internal investigation into “ the manner in which this administration has politicized the work of BARDA and has pressured me and other conscientious scientists to fund companies with political connections as well as efforts that lack scientific merit.
” There ’ s reason to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Politico reported Wednesday that Bright ’ s transfer to a different position at the National Institutes of Health was a year in the making .
And unnamed officials at HHS , which houses BARDA , told the outlet that Bright was more receptive to hydroxychloroquine than his statement reflects .
A spokesperson for the law firm representing the doctor did not respond to TPM ’ s request for comment Thursday .
Until more is known about the basis for Bright ’ s claims , the administration is on familiar footing : A civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the government ’ s well of public trust is near dry .
As Derek Lowe , the chemist and columnist , wrote of Bright ’ s statement Wednesday , “ unfortunately , the conduct of many members of this administration does not allow anyone to dismiss these allegations out of hand.
” Here ’ s what else we were watching this week : • Army Gives GOP Donors $ 569 Million to ‘ Build the Wall ’ • None Interior official helped clear way for payments to ex-employer • U.S. is deporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ None U.S. Deported Thousands Amid Covid-19 Outbreak .
Some Proved to Be Sick .

This piece is part of our weekly Prime series on corruption and the Trump Swamp, but it has been moved outside of the paywall while we cover COVID-19.
A top government scientist sent a warning to the public this week that the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response had been politicized and corrupted by well-connected business interests.
The statement from Dr. Rick Bright was stunning in its frankness.
The administration had put “politics and cronyism ahead of science,” he said. Rather than invest in “safe and scientifically vetted solutions,” it had pursued “drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit.”
Bright, who had just been demoted from his post as the head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) when he made his statement to The New York Times, paid particular attention to chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, anti-malaria drugs now largely used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
“Specifically, and contrary to misguided directives, I limited the broad use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which clearly lack scientific merit,” Bright said.
The President has consistently hyped the pills as potential wonder drugs against COVID-19, but the clinical data so far is mixed at best and simply doesn’t support their widespread use against the disease.
Nonetheless, Trump has insisted. Pressed Tuesday on a study that did not find the anti-malarial drug effective against COVID-19, Trump offered more generic praise and then dodged.
“Obviously there have been some very good reports and perhaps this one’s not a good report,” he said. “But we’ll be looking at it.”
Why the boosterism?
It could be pressure from Joseph Pizza, a Trump donor and sales representative for companies that produce pharmaceutical agents including hydroxychloroquine sulfate.
The Job Creators Network, a dark money group funded in part by the pharmaceutical industry trade group PhRMA, has also pushed the drugs.
Alternatively, as The New York Times reported earlier this month, Trump first expressed interest in hydroxychloroquine in March, “telling associates that Mr. [Larry] Ellison, a billionaire and a founder of Oracle, had discussed it with him.”
After that discussion, an unnamed source close to Dr. Bright told NBC News Thursday, Bright was instructed “to implement a national program aimed at expanding access to the drug without proper controls in place and despite the lack of peer-reviewed clinical data on the drug’s effectiveness.”
That broadly describes the emergency authorization the FDA gave BARDA late last month in order to allow millions of pills donated to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile to be distributed to hospitals for use with COVID-19 patients.
While doctors can individually prescribe the anti-malaria medication for “off-label” COVID-19 use, the U.S. government can’t distribute drugs for off-label use. The emergency authorization, addressed to Bright by name, allowed millions of pills to flow to hospitals.
In his statement to the Times, Bright said he will request an internal investigation into “the manner in which this administration has politicized the work of BARDA and has pressured me and other conscientious scientists to fund companies with political connections as well as efforts that lack scientific merit.”
There’s reason to be wary of Bright’s story. Politico reported Wednesday that Bright’s transfer to a different position at the National Institutes of Health was a year in the making. And unnamed officials at HHS, which houses BARDA, told the outlet that Bright was more receptive to hydroxychloroquine than his statement reflects.
A spokesperson for the law firm representing the doctor did not respond to TPM’s request for comment Thursday.
Until more is known about the basis for Bright’s claims, the administration is on familiar footing: A civil servant has pulled the fire alarm, and the government’s well of public trust is near dry.
As Derek Lowe, the chemist and columnist, wrote of Bright’s statement Wednesday, “unfortunately, the conduct of many members of this administration does not allow anyone to dismiss these allegations out of hand.”
Here’s what else we were watching this week:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-23--Cuomo Reminds McConnell That KY Takes More Money Than NY: ‘Who’s Getting Bailed Out Here?’

New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo ( D ) reminded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-KY ) on Thursday that for all his trash talk about “ blue state bailouts , ” the GOP leader ’ s state is the one that reaps the benefits of New York ’ s payments to Uncle Sam .
During his daily press conference , Cuomo pointed out that not only does New York chip in more money than Kentucky , the Empire State also takes less from the federal coffers than it contributes – unlike Kentucky .
“ It ’ s your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we generate , ” he continued .
“ Your state is getting bailed out .
Not my state.
” During two different interviews on Wednesday , McConnell bashed what his office referred to as “ blue state bailouts ” in its press releases on the interviews .
“ We ’ re not interested in solving their pension problems for them , we ’ re not interested in rescuing them from bad decisions they ’ ve made in the past , ” the Republican senator said on Fox News .
“ We ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advantage of this pandemic to solve a lot of problems that they created for themselves , and bad decisions they made in the past.
” But in addition to New York , it ’ s blue states like California , Massachusetts , and New Jersey that shell out more cash to the federal government than most GOP strongholds in the country .

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) reminded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Thursday that for all his trash talk about “blue state bailouts,” the GOP leader’s state is the one that reaps the benefits of New York’s payments to Uncle Sam.
During his daily press conference, Cuomo pointed out that not only does New York chip in more money than Kentucky, the Empire State also takes less from the federal coffers than it contributes – unlike Kentucky.
“Senator McConnell, who’s getting bailed out here?” Cuomo asked.
“It’s your state that is living on the money that we generate,” he continued. “Your state is getting bailed out. Not my state.”
During two different interviews on Wednesday, McConnell bashed what his office referred to as “blue state bailouts” in its press releases on the interviews.
“We’re not interested in solving their pension problems for them, we’re not interested in rescuing them from bad decisions they’ve made in the past,” the Republican senator said on Fox News. “We’re not going to let them take advantage of this pandemic to solve a lot of problems that they created for themselves, and bad decisions they made in the past.”
But in addition to New York, it’s blue states like California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey that shell out more cash to the federal government than most GOP strongholds in the country.
Watch Cuomo below:


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-23--Heartfelt Condolences To Brian Kemp For The Loss Of His Dignity

Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp ( R ) has been outstripping the sizable competition in the race to become President Donald Trump ’ s biggest , and most thoroughly rejected , flunky .
On Monday he mounted his flashiest maneuver yet , announcing that he would fling wide the doors of the state ’ s gyms , nail salons , barbershops , bowling alleys — bowling alleys — by the end of the week , about three laps ahead of even the cadre of his fellow Trumpy governors .
Never mind that the University of Washington ’ s IHME model @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House — projects that Georgia will still be days out from its peak in daily , COVID-19-related deaths ; never mind that the CDC is located in Atlanta , the epicenter of the soon-to-be petri dish .
He was willing to put 10.6 million lives on the line in a pandemic offering for dear leader : a state that ’ s open for business , a state that ’ s finally prioritizing economic growth over human suffering , a state that refuses to let the cure be worse than the problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the front porch , clutching his boutonniere , as Trump slammed the front door in his face .
“ Would I do that ?
No .
I ’ d keep them a little longer , ” the President said of the social distancing guidelines at his Wednesday press briefing .
“ I want to protect people ’ s lives.
” “ I ’ m going to let him make his decision , ” he added , of Kemp .
“ But I told him I totally disagree.
” It was surely not the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The governor had been fielding attacks from all sides — “ illogical ” from the Atlanta mayor , “ unbelievable ” from a state senator , “ dangerous ” from a former CDC director — for his pronouncement .
Kemp , unbowed , took to Twitter to ensure that nobody was under the false impression that he ’ d rethought his loyalties in the face of Trump ’ s repudiation .
“ Earlier today , I discussed Georgia ’ s plan to reopen shuttered businesses for limited operations with @ POTUS , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bold leadership and insight during these difficult times and the framework provided by the White House to safely move states forward.
” But let ’ s not linger too long under the delusion that Trump smacked down his loyal foot soldier under his own volition .
As recently as Tuesday , a source told CNN that he called Kemp to give him a big thumbs up on his decision .
But the honeymoon was shattered by the pesky scientists on the coronavirus task force the next day , before the press briefing .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they decided that they would not publicly support the reopening .
Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx , whose mannerisms Trump finds “ elegant , ” was dispatched to change the President ’ s mind .
Trump , never one to agonize much over changing his loyalties , agreed to denounce Kemp at the presser .
And now , Kemp is an island , a man alone , as the moment on Friday approaches when massive swaths of the Georgia economy get the greenlight to open — plus another wave of restaurants and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in fact choose to go back to work — they might not — health experts warn that transmission will likely spike , and Georgians could die or fall sick at a far faster rate .
But Kemp can rest easy in the knowledge that it was all in the name of winning the President ’ s favor , as he brushes the bus tire tracks off his back .

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has been outstripping the sizable competition in the race to become President Donald Trump’s biggest, and most thoroughly rejected, flunky.
On Monday he mounted his flashiest maneuver yet, announcing that he would fling wide the doors of the state’s gyms, nail salons, barbershops, bowling alleys — bowling alleys — by the end of the week, about three laps ahead of even the cadre of his fellow Trumpy governors.
Never mind that the University of Washington’s IHME model — similar to the one used by the White House — projects that Georgia will still be days out from its peak in daily, COVID-19-related deaths; never mind that the CDC is located in Atlanta, the epicenter of the soon-to-be petri dish.
He was willing to put 10.6 million lives on the line in a pandemic offering for dear leader: a state that’s open for business, a state that’s finally prioritizing economic growth over human suffering, a state that refuses to let the cure be worse than the problem.
But Kemp was left alone on the front porch, clutching his boutonniere, as Trump slammed the front door in his face.
“Would I do that? No. I’d keep them a little longer,” the President said of the social distancing guidelines at his Wednesday press briefing. “I want to protect people’s lives.”
“I’m going to let him make his decision,” he added, of Kemp. “But I told him I totally disagree.”
It was surely not the pat on the head Kemp expected. The governor had been fielding attacks from all sides — “illogical” from the Atlanta mayor, “unbelievable” from a state senator, “dangerous” from a former CDC director — for his pronouncement.
Kemp, unbowed, took to Twitter to ensure that nobody was under the false impression that he’d rethought his loyalties in the face of Trump’s repudiation.
“Earlier today, I discussed Georgia’s plan to reopen shuttered businesses for limited operations with @POTUS,” he wrote. “I appreciate his bold leadership and insight during these difficult times and the framework provided by the White House to safely move states forward.”
But let’s not linger too long under the delusion that Trump smacked down his loyal foot soldier under his own volition. As recently as Tuesday, a source told CNN that he called Kemp to give him a big thumbs up on his decision.
But the honeymoon was shattered by the pesky scientists on the coronavirus task force the next day, before the press briefing.
In a meeting also reported by CNN, they decided that they would not publicly support the reopening.
Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx, whose mannerisms Trump finds “elegant,” was dispatched to change the President’s mind. Trump, never one to agonize much over changing his loyalties, agreed to denounce Kemp at the presser.
And now, Kemp is an island, a man alone, as the moment on Friday approaches when massive swaths of the Georgia economy get the greenlight to open — plus another wave of restaurants and movie theaters Monday.
If Georgians do in fact choose to go back to work — they might not — health experts warn that transmission will likely spike, and Georgians could die or fall sick at a far faster rate.
But Kemp can rest easy in the knowledge that it was all in the name of winning the President’s favor, as he brushes the bus tire tracks off his back.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-23--What We Know — And Don’t Know — About Trump’s New Immigration Order

President Donald Trump ’ s Twitter pledge on Monday to “ temporarily suspend ” all immigration to the United States was finally translated into a legal document Wednesday night — one with plenty of caveats that didn ’ t fit into 280-character missives .
The temporary suspension , which affects visa applicants not currently in the U.S. , will last 60 days unless it is renewed .
And though there are plenty of exceptions in the document , it also affects tens of thousands of people .
If it is extended beyond its initial two months , the suspension will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his close adviser Stephen Miller ’ s effort to dramatically restrict legal immigration into the U.S .
The immigration law-focused start-up Boundless found that , if applied to the 1.1 million green cards typically issued in the U.S. every year , the rules in Trump ’ s Thursday suspension would block more than 350,000 of them .
The group also found that the order would favor migrants from western Europe , Canada and Australia .
“ To put it another way , Trump ’ s new immigration ban looks suspiciously like his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a merit-based system , ” wrote Aaron Rechlin-Melnick , policy counsel at the American Immigration Council .
The parents , adult children and siblings of citizens applying for entry to the U.S. from overseas will be blocked from entering , for now , as a result of Trump ’ s order .
So will the relatives of lawful permanent residents .
And would-be immigrants who lucked out in the Diversity Visa lottery will have to wait to cash in their tickets .
The Trump administration has targeted these groups of would-be migrants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on public health implications of travel and immigration , the White House has pitched the order as a way to “ put unemployed Americans first ” amid historic job losses , the result of COVID-19 “ stay-at-home ” orders across the country .
But immigration lawyers and advocates see a political ploy .
“ This is just an effort by the administration to distract from its inability to effectively manage the COVID-19 crisis , ” Shev Dalal-Dheini , director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association , told TPM Thursday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and its own ability to control peoples ’ actions , it took its normal course , targeting its favorite victims.
” But the executive order also includes several exceptions , most notably for the spouses and minor children of American citizens , people overseas who had already obtained visas , and those applying for an adjustment of their status who are already in the U.S .
It also will not apply to health care workers seeking to fight COVID-19 in the U.S. , nor military personnel or wealthy entrepreneurs promising to create jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeking temporary visas , such as farm workers and students — though the order stipulates that the status of these “ non-immigrant visas ” applications could be reconsidered after a month to “ ensure the prioritization , hiring , and employment of U.S. workers.
” Dalal-Dheini called that language “ a warning.
” “ We are waiting on bated breath to see what ’ s going to happen there , ” she said .
That exemption for temporary workers reflects a behind-the-scenes lobbying effort from sectors that rely on immigrants ’ labor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In The New York Times ’ words Wednesday , business groups “ exploded in anger ” at the prospect of losing guest workers .
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis , immigration has slowed substantially already .
Given the exemptions and the closures of offices overseas due to COVID-19 — not to mention existing travel restrictions — the order was as much a political document as a legal one , some attorneys noted .
“ In practice , this is just red meat for Trump ’ s base , ” immigration attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is suspended right now and even after they re-open , the time to boot up the bureaucratic machine it is highly unlikely that many applicants are going to be actually affected greatly by 21 June.
” But Dalal-Dheini and others acknowledged that the true impact of the executive order can only be measured after 60 days .
The administration could choose to extend the restrictions , effectively decreasing legal immigration for much of the rest of Trump ’ s time in office .
“ If this proclamation isn ’ t lifted in 60 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Dalal-Dheini said .
After that point , what was pitched as a two-month freeze could effectively bar tens of thousands of visa applicants including the family members of citizens and legal permanent residents .
And even if the order is lifted on time , the piles of paperwork currently stacking up at embassies and consular offices around the country could take months to sort through .
Diversity Visa lottery “ winners , ” for example , have to have their visas processed by the end of the fiscal year — Sept. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then , Glazer wrote , “ they are out forever.
” For now , as COVID-19 has nearly ground international travel to a halt and closed U.S. government offices around the world , Trump ’ s order adds yet another brick to what Dalal-Dheini called the “ invisible wall.
” “ The issue is , we don ’ t know what the true impact of this proclamation will be , ” she said .

President Donald Trump’s Twitter pledge on Monday to “temporarily suspend” all immigration to the United States was finally translated into a legal document Wednesday night — one with plenty of caveats that didn’t fit into 280-character missives.
The temporary suspension, which affects visa applicants not currently in the U.S., will last 60 days unless it is renewed.
And though there are plenty of exceptions in the document, it also affects tens of thousands of people. If it is extended beyond its initial two months, the suspension will be a significant step forward for Trump and his close adviser Stephen Miller’s effort to dramatically restrict legal immigration into the U.S.
The immigration law-focused start-up Boundless found that, if applied to the 1.1 million green cards typically issued in the U.S. every year, the rules in Trump’s Thursday suspension would block more than 350,000 of them. The group also found that the order would favor migrants from western Europe, Canada and Australia.
“To put it another way, Trump’s new immigration ban looks suspiciously like his plan for transforming the U.S. immigration process into a merit-based system,” wrote Aaron Rechlin-Melnick, policy counsel at the American Immigration Council.
The parents, adult children and siblings of citizens applying for entry to the U.S. from overseas will be blocked from entering, for now, as a result of Trump’s order. So will the relatives of lawful permanent residents. And would-be immigrants who lucked out in the Diversity Visa lottery will have to wait to cash in their tickets. The Trump administration has targeted these groups of would-be migrants in the past.
Rather than focusing on public health implications of travel and immigration, the White House has pitched the order as a way to “put unemployed Americans first” amid historic job losses, the result of COVID-19 “stay-at-home” orders across the country. But immigration lawyers and advocates see a political ploy.
“This is just an effort by the administration to distract from its inability to effectively manage the COVID-19 crisis,” Shev Dalal-Dheini, director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told TPM Thursday.
“Rather than acknowledging its own failures and its own ability to control peoples’ actions, it took its normal course, targeting its favorite victims.”
But the executive order also includes several exceptions, most notably for the spouses and minor children of American citizens, people overseas who had already obtained visas, and those applying for an adjustment of their status who are already in the U.S. It also will not apply to health care workers seeking to fight COVID-19 in the U.S., nor military personnel or wealthy entrepreneurs promising to create jobs.
And it allows entry to those seeking temporary visas, such as farm workers and students — though the order stipulates that the status of these “non-immigrant visas” applications could be reconsidered after a month to “ensure the prioritization, hiring, and employment of U.S. workers.” Dalal-Dheini called that language “a warning.”
“We are waiting on bated breath to see what’s going to happen there,” she said.
That exemption for temporary workers reflects a behind-the-scenes lobbying effort from sectors that rely on immigrants’ labor, like the tech and agriculture industries. In The New York Times’ words Wednesday, business groups “exploded in anger” at the prospect of losing guest workers.
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, immigration has slowed substantially already. Given the exemptions and the closures of offices overseas due to COVID-19 — not to mention existing travel restrictions — the order was as much a political document as a legal one, some attorneys noted.
“In practice, this is just red meat for Trump’s base,” immigration attorney Nicolette Glazer observed. “Consular processing is suspended right now and even after they re-open, the time to boot up the bureaucratic machine it is highly unlikely that many applicants are going to be actually affected greatly by 21 June.”
But Dalal-Dheini and others acknowledged that the true impact of the executive order can only be measured after 60 days. The administration could choose to extend the restrictions, effectively decreasing legal immigration for much of the rest of Trump’s time in office.
“If this proclamation isn’t lifted in 60 days, the impacts could be dire,” Dalal-Dheini said. After that point, what was pitched as a two-month freeze could effectively bar tens of thousands of visa applicants including the family members of citizens and legal permanent residents.
And even if the order is lifted on time, the piles of paperwork currently stacking up at embassies and consular offices around the country could take months to sort through.
Diversity Visa lottery “winners,” for example, have to have their visas processed by the end of the fiscal year — Sept. 30. Without their visas stamped by then, Glazer wrote, “they are out forever.”
For now, as COVID-19 has nearly ground international travel to a halt and closed U.S. government offices around the world, Trump’s order adds yet another brick to what Dalal-Dheini called the “invisible wall.”
“The issue is, we don’t know what the true impact of this proclamation will be,” she said.


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-23--Pelosi Fires Back At ‘Insecure’ McConnell After He Derides ‘Blue State Bailouts’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-CA ) slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-KY ) on Wednesday after the senator ’ s office mocked so-called “ blue state bailouts ” as Congress hammers out another relief package during the COVID-19 outbreak .
“ Look at the language of Mitch McConnell : ‘ I ’ m not bailing out blue states , they should go bankrupt , ' ” Pelosi said in an interview with the Washington Post .
“ Really ?
Really ?
How insecure is he in his own race in Kentucky to have to resort to that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , McConnell ’ s office had issued two press releases on his interviews on Fox News and Hugh Hewitt ’ s radio show .
Both releases had sections on “ Stopping Blue State Bailouts ” and “ Preventing Blue State Bailouts ” that quoted the Republican leader ’ s complaints about assisting Democratic regions of the country amid the pandemic .
“ We ’ re not interested in solving their pension problems for them , we ’ re not interested in rescuing them from bad decisions they ’ ve made in the past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bill Hemmer .
“ We ’ re not going to let them take advantage of this pandemic to solve a lot of problems that they created for themselves , and bad decisions they made in the past.
” “ There ’ s not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations , ” he told Hewitt .
In that interview , McConnell even argued that the states ought to go bankrupt .
“ Yeah , I would certainly be in favor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ route , ” he said .
“ It saves some cities .
And there ’ s no good reason for it not to be available .
”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Wednesday after the senator’s office mocked so-called “blue state bailouts” as Congress hammers out another relief package during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Look at the language of Mitch McConnell: ‘I’m not bailing out blue states, they should go bankrupt,'” Pelosi said in an interview with the Washington Post. “Really? Really? How insecure is he in his own race in Kentucky to have to resort to that pathetic language?”
Earlier on Wednesday, McConnell’s office had issued two press releases on his interviews on Fox News and Hugh Hewitt’s radio show. Both releases had sections on “Stopping Blue State Bailouts” and “Preventing Blue State Bailouts” that quoted the Republican leader’s complaints about assisting Democratic regions of the country amid the pandemic.
“We’re not interested in solving their pension problems for them, we’re not interested in rescuing them from bad decisions they’ve made in the past,” he told Fox News host Bill Hemmer. “We’re not going to let them take advantage of this pandemic to solve a lot of problems that they created for themselves, and bad decisions they made in the past.”
“There’s not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations,” he told Hewitt.
In that interview, McConnell even argued that the states ought to go bankrupt.
“Yeah, I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route,” he said. “It saves some cities. And there’s no good reason for it not to be available.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-23--After Inslee’s Warning, Commissioner Calls To Rescind Motion Defying Stay-At-Home Order

A county commissioner in Washington issued a mea culpa Wednesday night and called on his colleagues to rescind a motion passed in defiance of Gov .
Jay Inslee ’ s ( D ) stay-at-home order .
Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck ’ s statement came just hours after Inslee , via his general counsel , warned the commissioners that their attempt to reopen county businesses was a violation of state law .
Inslee ’ s order , meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 , is set to expire on May 4 and has the approval of state House and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d received a “ flood ” of calls and emails — some “ openly hostile and threatening ” — and has since decided that arguing with the governor is too divisive for the current climate .
“ In our meeting Tuesday morning ( April 21 ) the Board approved a resolution that was not properly vetted , and passed without thorough consideration of the myriad impacts it might produce , ” he said in his Wednesday-night statement about the motion .
He shifted some of the blame onto his fellow commissioner Clint @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it should have already been subjected to a legal review and presented to the other members before the meeting .
Didier had also teased legal action against the governor ’ s order , but Peck emphatically told TPM Wednesday that neither he nor Franklin County is part of that possible effort .
Still , in his statement , Peck refused to let up on his insistence that Inslee ’ s order is unconstitutional .
“ At the same time I believe the Governor ’ s directive banning large church services violates the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Constitution , ” he said .
Ultimately , he called on his fellow commissioners to rescind the motion “ opening ” the county and to be more thorough with future proposals .
They have a meeting scheduled for Thursday morning , 9 a.m. local time .
For about 48 hours , the Washington county was a bastion of resistance , as the commissioners took their cue from the local sheriff .
Sheriff J.D .
Raymond posted a letter on Facebook declaring that he would not enforce Inslee ’ s order against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Our governor has overstepped his constitutional powers and is trying to control us under the guise of protecting us , ” he wrote .
“ He states that he is protecting us from the current pandemic but is simultaneously creating an economic crisis.
” The attitude on display by the commissioners and sheriff has been echoed nationwide as conservatives chafe against the stay-at-home orders and rail against the economic devastation that has accompanied the pandemic .
Inslee , for his part , announced this week a framework for his recovery plan .
Looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he expects the loosening of the lockdown restrictions to be more like the “ turning of a dial than the flip of a switch.
” “ In the coming days , we will receive additional health modeling projecting the course of this virus , ” he said .
“ We hope it will give us cause to begin lifting certain restrictions .
”

A county commissioner in Washington issued a mea culpa Wednesday night and called on his colleagues to rescind a motion passed in defiance of Gov. Jay Inslee’s (D) stay-at-home order.
Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck’s statement came just hours after Inslee, via his general counsel, warned the commissioners that their attempt to reopen county businesses was a violation of state law.
Inslee’s order, meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, is set to expire on May 4 and has the approval of state House and Senate leadership.
Peck said that he’d received a “flood” of calls and emails — some “openly hostile and threatening” — and has since decided that arguing with the governor is too divisive for the current climate.
“In our meeting Tuesday morning (April 21) the Board approved a resolution that was not properly vetted, and passed without thorough consideration of the myriad impacts it might produce,” he said in his Wednesday-night statement about the motion.
He shifted some of the blame onto his fellow commissioner Clint Didier who proposed the motion, saying that it should have already been subjected to a legal review and presented to the other members before the meeting.
Didier had also teased legal action against the governor’s order, but Peck emphatically told TPM Wednesday that neither he nor Franklin County is part of that possible effort.
Still, in his statement, Peck refused to let up on his insistence that Inslee’s order is unconstitutional.
“At the same time I believe the Governor’s directive banning large church services violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution,” he said.
Ultimately, he called on his fellow commissioners to rescind the motion “opening” the county and to be more thorough with future proposals. They have a meeting scheduled for Thursday morning, 9 a.m. local time.
For about 48 hours, the Washington county was a bastion of resistance, as the commissioners took their cue from the local sheriff.
Sheriff J.D. Raymond posted a letter on Facebook declaring that he would not enforce Inslee’s order against church gatherings or business operations.
“Our governor has overstepped his constitutional powers and is trying to control us under the guise of protecting us,” he wrote. “He states that he is protecting us from the current pandemic but is simultaneously creating an economic crisis.”
The attitude on display by the commissioners and sheriff has been echoed nationwide as conservatives chafe against the stay-at-home orders and rail against the economic devastation that has accompanied the pandemic.
Inslee, for his part, announced this week a framework for his recovery plan. Looking to May 4, he said that he expects the loosening of the lockdown restrictions to be more like the “turning of a dial than the flip of a switch.”
“In the coming days, we will receive additional health modeling projecting the course of this virus,” he said. “We hope it will give us cause to begin lifting certain restrictions.”


talkingpointsmemo--2020-04-23--Report: Task Force Experts Had To Prod Trump Into Saying Reopening GA Was A Bad Idea

On Wednesday , President Donald Trump spoke out against Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp ’ s ( R ) plan @ @ @ @ @ Peach State to reopen – but only because the medical experts on his COVID-19 task @ @ @ @ @ persuade him to so .
According to CNN , task force member Dr. Deborah Birx @ @ @ @ @ right before his daily press briefing to sway him against Kemp ’ s decision because @ @ @ @ @ force members feared being asked by reporters why the President endorsed the reopening of Georgia @ @ @ @ @ on his panel did not .
An unnamed source told CNN that Dr. Anthony Fauci @ @ @ @ @ the task force , told his colleagues during a meeting that he “ can not @ @ @ @ @ , Birx reportedly spoke to Trump and successfully changed his mind on the issue before @ @ @ @ @ podium .
“ I ’ m going to let [ Kemp ] make his decision @ @ @ @ @ during the briefing .
“ But I told him I totally disagree .
”

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump spoke out against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) plan to allow businesses in the Peach State to reopen – but only because the medical experts on his COVID-19 task force reportedly had managed to persuade him to so.
According to CNN, task force member Dr. Deborah Birx had privately met with Trump right before his daily press briefing to sway him against Kemp’s decision because she and the other task force members feared being asked by reporters why the President endorsed the reopening of Georgia’s economy while scientists on his panel did not.
An unnamed source told CNN that Dr. Anthony Fauci, another prominent doctor on the task force, told his colleagues during a meeting that he “cannot defend this publicly.”
Subsequently, Birx reportedly spoke to Trump and successfully changed his mind on the issue before he stepped up to the podium.
“I’m going to let [Kemp] make his decision,” the President said during the briefing. “But I told him I totally disagree.”