The Commentariat -- April 4, 2020
Afternoon Update:
April Is the Cruelest Month. The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here. "At least 276,000 people in the United States have tested positive for the virus, and officials believe the number of people who have been infected is far higher. More than 7,000 people have died, including at least 3,565 in New York State." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here. "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is trying to convince the United States not to block the export of 3M respirator masks to Canada. By stopping shipments of critical medical supplies, the United States would be 'hurting itself as much as Canada' because essential goods and services flow both ways across the border, Trudeau said Saturday at a news conference. On Friday, 3M revealed it is under pressure to stop exporting masks to other countries, including Canada, after the White House used the Defense Production Act to order the company to prioritize U.S. orders and cease shipments to Canada and Latin America."
** The Fish Rots from the Head. Yasmeen Abutaleb, et al., of the Washington Post: "By the time Donald Trump proclaimed himself a wartime president -- and the coronavirus the enemy -- the United States was already on course to see more of its people die than in the wars of Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq combined.... The United States will likely go down as the country that was supposedly best prepared to fight a pandemic but ended up catastrophically overmatched by the novel coronavirus, sustaining heavier casualties than any other nation.... It took 70 days from that initial notification for Trump to treat the coronavirus not as a distant threat or harmless flu strain well under control, but as a lethal force that had outflanked America's defenses and was poised to kill tens of thousands of citizens. That more-than-two-month stretch now stands as critical time that was squandered. Trump's baseless assertions in those weeks, including his claim that it would all just 'miraculously' go away, sowed significant public confusion and contradicted the urgent messages of public health experts.... Other failures cascaded through the system."
Juan Cole: "The Trump administration has forced [Capt. Brett Crozier] to retire because his letter warning of large scale deaths on his ship somehow made its way to the San Francisco Chronicle. [Thomas Modly,] one of those grey 'acting' high officials -- with whom Trump has surrounded himself in preference to actual confirmed cabinet secretaries and undersecretaries -- forced Crozier out.... Modly got the go-head for the ouster of Crozier from secretary of defense Mark Esper.... Crozier is a better man than Modly, by orders of magnitude. As Acting Navy Secretary Modly was certainly briefed repeatedly in January and February on the dangers of the coronavirus to the United States public and to the US Navy What did he do about that, as he sat around watching Trump call the deadly pandemic a 'hoax,' a 'nothing,' 'like the flu,' and promising it would go away quickly whatever it was? Modly knew that Trump was lying to the American public and that his lies would cost hundreds of thousands of American lives."
Marianna Sotomayor of NBC News: "In a virtual fundraiser with donors Friday night, former Vice President Joe Biden said that he has formally alerted Sen. Bernie Sanders that he will move forward with a vice presidential vetting process even though neither has become the Democratic nominee. He also disclosed to donors participating in the billed 'fireside chat' that he has had casual conversations with emerging leaders in the Democratic Party about possibly serving in his administration if he's elected President of the United States."
Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: "Thousands of National Guardsmen around the country are in contact with people who've contracted COVID-19. But while the federal government has called on them for frontline assistance in battling the pandemic, it's not giving them what they need to protect themselves: access to the military's health insurance.... According to the National Guard's advocates and the U.S. governors' association, the guardsmen are activated on orders that last 30 days. That puts them one single day shy of the requirement allowing the military health insurance system known as TRICARE -- think of it as Medicare For All In Uniform -- to cover them."
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Your Late Friday Night News Dump. We interrupt our continuous coronavirus coverage to bring you this late-breaking news of a bit of Trump's unfinished impeachment business: ~~~
~~~ Natasha Bertrand & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "... Donald Trump has fired the intelligence community's chief watchdog, Michael Atkinson, who was the first to sound the alarm to Congress last September about an 'urgent' complaint he'd received from an intelligence official involving Trump's communications with Ukraine's president. Trump formally notified the Senate and House intelligence committees of his intention to fire Atkinson and remove him from his duties, to take effect 30 days from Friday, according to two congressional officials and a copy of the letter obtained by Politico dated April 3.... Trump said in the letter that he 'no longer' has the fullest confidence in Atkinson.... In a statement, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) described the firing as 'retribution' and called it 'yet another blatant attempt by the President to gut the independence of the Intelligence Community and retaliate against those who dare to expose presidential wrongdoing. At a time when our country is dealing with a national emergency and needs people in the Intelligence Community to speak truth to power, the President's dead of night decision puts our country and national security at even greater risk.'..." ~~~
~~~ Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: Trump "has weighed removing [Atkinson] for months, officials said, but has been periodically talked out of it. ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Mr. Atkinson's fate was sealed after the trial on impeachment charges ended, said one administration official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The official described the move as part of a broader shake-up of the intelligence community that the president has set in motion in the past several weeks.... Mr. Atkinson had been nominated to the position by Mr. Trump and confirmed unanimously by the Senate.... Rather than being permitted to serve for another month [as required by law], the White House has told Mr. Atkinson that he is being placed on administrative leave, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The move effectively circumvents the 30-day safeguard by sidelining him immediately." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If you're wondering about the kind of inspector general Trump prefers, scroll on down the page to read about his nomination of his impeachment lawyer Brian Miller as the special inspector general under the pandemic recovery act.
Somehow, sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens -- I just don't see it. -- Donald Trump, at a press briefing Friday, though he stopped receiving foreign dignitaries weeks ago
Carly Simon should update "You're So Vain." -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie
Update: Oh wait. Simon did allow the song to be used in an anti-Trump ad. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. "President Trump said at his daily White House briefing on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that Americans use basic 'nonmedical, cloth' masks. 'You can do it. You don't have to do it. I'm choosing not to do it,' Mr. Trump said. 'It's only a recommendation.'... He stressed that medical masks should be reserved for health care workers and that masks are not a substitute for social distancing.
"President Trump would not say, in response to a question, whether he is taking steps to ensure that the 2020 presidential will take place as scheduled if the coronavirus is still present this fall, but he insisted the election would not be postponed. 'The general election will happen on Nov. 3,' Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump added that he does not approve of voting by mail, an idea gaining currency amid concerns that in-person voting would expose people to the coronavirus. 'I think a lot of people cheat with mail-in in voting,' he said. 'It should be, you go to a booth and you proudly display yourself.'
"At least one million [coronavirus] infections have been detected worldwide, but experts suspect the true number is far larger because of asymptomatic cases and delays in widespread testing. The Australian medical chief estimated that there are between five million and 10 million cases. As Beijing and Washington declared a détente in their sniping, it emerged that the C.I.A. had been warning the White House since at least February that China was vastly underestimating the scale of the crisis, limiting the usefulness of its data in predictive models.
[Leader of the Free World Gets High Marks.] "Germany has been held up as a model across Europe as its laboratories work around the clock to process coronavirus tests, a key measure that has resulted in its relatively low number of casualties.... Chancellor Angela Merkel returned to her office on Friday, ending 14 days in quarantine after a doctor who administered a vaccine to her tested positive. The chancellor has seen her approval ratings jump over her government's handling of the crisis."
The Washington Post's live updates for coronavirus developments Friday are here. Bill Barr Appears Human. "Significant outbreaks of the novel coronavirus at three federal prisons have prompted Attorney General William P. Barr to order the release of vulnerable inmates to home confinement. In a memorandum obtained by The Washington Post, Barr asked the Federal Bureau of Prisons to move elderly inmates and those with preexisting conditions from facilities in Danbury, Conn.; Oakdale, La., and Elkton, Ohio." C'mon. Bill Barr is Bill Barr. There has to be an angle here. Why do I think Paul Manafort & Roger Stone are going to figure into this story?
CNBC's live updates of coronavirus develops Friday are here. The updates include quite a few items of interest.
Frank Rich: "... the catastrophic failure of the Trump White House to mobilize government to procure and distribute medical essentials where needed is just the most visible piece of this Boschian landscape of chaos and horror. Now that Congress has enacted a $2 trillion stimulus package, we're sure to see the Trump family and its kleptocratic cohort play political and personal favorites with economic relief as well. The Trumps are nothing if not impressive in their ability to help themselves and their fellow grifters to every buck not nailed down. At a time when the president is insinuating that New York City hospital employees are stealing masks, inquiring minds want to know if the administration scheme to have FEMA bid against states for PPE, thereby driving up prices, was sheer dereliction of duty or a concerted effort to benefit war profiteers in or close to the White House."
Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "The C.I.A. has been warning the White House since at least early February that China has vastly understated its coronavirus infections and that its count could not be relied upon as the United States compiles predictive models to fight the virus, according to current and former intelligence officials.... Obtaining a more accurate count of the Chinese rate of infection and deaths from the virus has worldwide public health implications.... For American officials, the totals are critical to getting a better understanding of how Covid-19 will affect the United States in the months to come and of the effectiveness of countermeasures like social distancing.... But American intelligence agencies have concluded that the Chinese government itself does not know the extent of the virus and is as blind as the rest of the world.... Bureaucratic misreporting is a chronic problem for any government, but it has grown worse in China as the Communist leadership has taken a more authoritarian turn in recent years under Mr. Xi." ~~~
~~~ ** Mrs. McCrabbie: Barnes doesn't report it, but the fact that "the White House" has known since early February that China was underreporting the severity of the outbreak gives "the White House" -- i.e., Trump -- even less excuse for misleading Americans about the threat that Covid-19 posed here and for failing to prepare for the coming pandemic.
** The Dictator We've Been Waiting for. Arelis R. Hernández & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "President Trump has used emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic to implement the kind of strict enforcement regime at the U.S. southern border he has long wanted, suspending laws that protect minors and asylum seekers so that the U.S. government can immediately deport them or turn them away. Citing the threat of 'mass, uncontrolled cross-border movement,' the president has shelved safeguards intended to protect trafficking victims and persecuted groups, implementing an expulsion order that sends migrants of all ages back to Mexico in an average of 96 minutes. U.S. Border Patrol agents do not perform medical checks when they encounter people crossing into the country.... During White House briefings on the pandemic, Trump has repeatedly brought up his border wall project, unprompted, and has touted construction progress, overstating the number of miles crews have completed as he says he is fulfilling his 2016 campaign promise." And Ivanka played flamenco as the Constitution burned. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Chuck Schumer & Rachel Maddow & I don't know who-all else are proposing that a military logistics expert head up the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. If Trump were a normal Democratic president, I'd say that was a good idea. But Trump is Trump, and if he puts a military person in charge, the next thing you know we'll have martial law. Maybe there's someone at FEMA who could do it; maybe there's a retired general who could do it. But it must be a civilian who is not Jared Kushner or one of Trump's other flunkies. ~~~
~~~ Dara Lind of ProPublica: "For the first time since the enactment of the Refugee Act in 1980, people who come to the U.S. saying they fear persecution in their home countries are being turned away by Border Patrol agents with no chance to make a legal case for asylum. The shift... [is] the biggest step the administration has taken to limit humanitarian protection for people entering the U.S. without papers..., [allowing] Border Patrol agents to simply expel migrants with no process whatsoever for hearing their claims. The administration gave the Border Patrol unchallengeable authority over migrants seeking asylum by invoking a little-known power given to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. public health agency, to ban the entry of people or things that might spread 'infectious disease' in the U.S." --s
Here's How Jealous Trump Is of President Obama. Adam Cancryn, et al., of Politico: "Insurers were prepared to extend [Obamacare] coverage, HHS officials were largely on board, but the White House refused to reopen enrollment.... The White House ... rejected the prospect of allowing new sign-ups across the 38 Affordable Care Act marketplaces it controls -- a decision that shocked the health care industry, triggered widespread criticism and prompted a scramble within the administration to find a new way to care for the growing population left exposed to the pandemic. 'You have a perfectly good answer in front of you, and instead you're going to make another one up,' said one Republican close to the administration. 'It's purely ideological.'... 'It's a bad decision optics-wise,' one administration official said in the immediate aftermath. 'It politicizes people's access to health services during a serious national health emergency.'... Several states with control over their own health exchanges had already flung their doors open in the last month, in an acknowledgment of the deepening crisis that's already killed thousands and threatens to persist well into the summer."
Shawn Boburg, et al., of the Washington Post: "... on Feb. 8, one of the first CDC [coronavirus] test kits arrived ... at a public health laboratory ... [in] Manhattan. By then, the virus had reached the United States.... For hours, lab technicians struggled to verify that the test worked. Each time, it fell short, producing untrustworthy results. In the 21 days that followed, as Trump administration officials continued to rely on the flawed CDC test, many lab scientists eager to aid the faltering effort grew increasingly alarmed and exasperated by the federal government's actions.... In their private communications, scientists at academic, hospital and public health labs -- one layer removed from federal agency operations -- expressed dismay at the failure to move more quickly and frustration at bureaucratic demands that delayed their attempts to develop alternatives to the CDC test.... By then, the virus had spread across the country."
Rachana Pradham of Kaiser Health News: "A coronavirus test made by Abbott Laboratories and introduced with considerable fanfare by President Donald Trump in a Rose Garden news conference this week is giving state and local health officials very little added capacity to perform speedy tests needed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.... A document circulated among officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week shows that state and local public health labs were set to receive a total of only 5,500 coronavirus tests." --s ~~~
~~~ Update. Stephanie Lee & Dan Vergano of BuzzFeed News: "State labs are scrambling to get their hands on a new in-demand coronavirus test that can find a positive result in 'as little as five minutes.' But the federal government has planned to order it in quantities far below what would be needed to achieve widespread testing, according to emails obtained by BuzzFeed News.... According to the spreadsheet, all 50 state health departments, as well as some local health departments, would each receive 10 to 15 devices for a total of 780 devices distributed nationwide.... [BUT. A spokesperson for the test's manufacturer Abbott Laboratories] ... said Friday afternoon that the company started sending tests on Wednesday, and by the end of Friday 'will have shipped more than 190,000 of those rapid tests to 21 states.... In a press conference over the weekend in the Rose Garden..., Donald Trump praised the test.... On Wednesday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told the Washington Post, 'We've talked to Abbott. They're shortly supposed to have a small amount of testing machines out to the states. No governor in America has received any yet.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It isn't clear from the BuzzFeed report how many -- if any -- test-reading devices above & beyond the original 780 ordered are going out to states now or shortly. The test swab doesn't read itself. Administering a so-called 15-minute test that has to be carried hundreds of miles to the nearest reading device means it's hardly a 15-minute test.
Jon Swaine of the Washington Post: "In September 2018, the Trump administration received detailed plans for a new machine designed to churn out millions of protective respirator masks at high speed during a pandemic. The plans, submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by medical manufacturer O&M Halyard, were the culmination of a venture unveiled almost three years earlier by the Obama administration. But HHS did not proceed with making the machine. The project was one of two N95 mask ventures -- totaling $9.8 million -- that the federal government embarked on over the past five years to better prepare for pandemics. The other involves the development of reusable masks.... Expert panels have advised the government for at least 14 years that reusable masks were vital. That effort, like the quick mask machine, has not led to a single new mask for the government's response." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: In fairness to Trump, the Obama & Bush II administrations did not do as much as they should have to prepare for future pandemics, either. Since it's impossible to foretell when a virus will strike, but a certainty that one will, the federal government should have been better prepared all along. ~~~
~~~ For instance, there's this fact-check by Matthew Brown of USA Today: "The claim: The Obama administration used and did not replenish the nation's emergency stockpile of medical supplies, including N95 masks[.]... We rate this claim TRUE because it is supported by our research. There is no indication that the Obama administration took significant steps to replenish the Strategic National Stockpile after it was depleted from repeated crises during Obama's tenure. Calls for action came from experts at the time concerned for the country's ability to respond to future serious pandemics. Such recommendations were, for whatever reason, not heeded." ~~~
~~~ Then again, there's this crap from the Crapper-in-Chief: ~~~
Jon Greenberg of Politifact: "... Donald Trump deflected blame for the slow start of testing for the new coronavirus in the United States. 'We inherited a broken test,' he said on Fox News' 'Fox and Friends' March 30.... [Obviously!] That flies in the face of logic. There could be no test for the virus that causes COVID-19 until the virus emerged." Mrs. McC: Trump's nonsensical claim also shows that he doesn't under the first thing about a disease that has overwhelmed the country & consumed his presidency*, notwithstanding the claim he made last month while visiting CDC HQ: "I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said, 'How do you know so much about this? ' Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president."
Nancy Cook & Dan Diamond of Politico: "The Trump White House is doubling down on a strategy to govern the coronavirus pandemic: pushing authority and responsibility for the response onto the states.... The approach could give the White House an opportunity to extract Trump from future criticism as the virus spreads throughout the nation and threatens to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans." --s
The notion of the federal stockpile was it's supposed to be our stockpile. It's not supposed to be states' stockpiles that they then use. -- Jared Kushner, White House press briefing Thursday ~~~
Here's What Happens When Jared Says Something Ignorant & False. Quint Forgey of Politico: "The official government webpage for the Strategic National Stockpile was altered Friday to seemingly reflect a controversial description of the emergency repository that White House adviser Jared Kushner offered at a news conference Thursday evening. According to a [new] brief online summary on the Department of Health and Human Services website, the stockpile's role 'is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies. Many states have products stockpiled, as well.' But just hours earlier, the text characterized the stockpile as 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.' The previous language stated that when 'state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency.' Also stripped from the new summary is a sentence that affirmed the stockpile 'contains enough supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously.'" ~~~
~~~ Then Trump Defended the Clown Prince. Savannah Behrmann of USA Today: "... Donald Trump accused a reporter of asking a 'gotcha' question on Friday when asking about ... Jared Kushner's comments in which he referred to the national stockpile of medical supplies as 'our stockpile' and not one belonging to states.... CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang pressed Trump at Friday's briefing to clarify the Kushner's use of the word 'ours,' as Trump has become defensive over states needing resources from the national stockpile, claiming they should have their own, and the previous administration left them with hardly anything.... 'I mean, it's such a basic, simple question, and you try to make it sound so bad. You ought to be ashamed of yourself,' Trump continued, saying Jiang 'asked your question in a very nasty tone.'" The article includes a transcription of the full exchange, most of which also appears in Brian Williams' summary report embedded above. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Of course she's nasty. Not only did she challenge Slumlord Dynasty Boy, she's a minority woman, for Pete's sake.
Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "President Trump intends to nominate White House lawyer Brian D. Miller to serve as the inspector general overseeing the Treasury Department's implementation of the newly enacted $2 trillion coronavirus law, the White House said Friday night. If confirmed by the Senate, Miller would become Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery for the Department of Treasury, a key post in preventing fraud and abuse in the enormous new program. Currently, Miller is a special assistant to Trump and senior associate counsel in the White House Office of Legal Counsel. He played a role in attempting to defend Trump during the recent impeachment probe in Congress.... But critics pointed out that inspector generals are typically apolitical.... Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who played a leadership role in Congress's response to the 2008 financial crisis, called the pending nomination 'contemptuous' and a 'blatant conflict of interest.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes but, at least we know now that this won't be a problem: ~~~
~~~ Nepotism Normalized. Maggie Severns of Politico: "Jared Kushner's family business could be a prime beneficiary of a provision in the federal recovery bill that allows owners of apartment buildings to freeze federal mortgage payments on low- and moderate-income properties. Kushner Companies, the real estate firm started in 1985 by Kushner's father, Charles, controls thousands of low- and moderate-housing units across the country, some of which are funded through an $800 million federally backed loan the firm received in 2019." --s
Mark Niquette & Michael Sasso of Bloomberg: "The Small Business Administration has bumped up to 1% the interest rate lenders may charge small businesses under a $350 billion U.S. relief program after lenders complained that the previous approved rate of 0.5% was below even their own cost of funds.... Banks and other lenders that are key to carrying it out had said they lacked guidance on how to complete the loans, including what documentation is required from borrowers and how to verify it.... The program, part of the $2 trillion stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, is central to help small businesses survive the devastating impact of the coronavirus outbreak..." --s (Firewalled.)
Chad Garland of Stars & Stripes reports on Capt. Brett Crozier's sendoff after the Navy relieved him of his command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. More on Crozier's removal linked yesterday.
Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, et al., of the New York Times: "In cities across America, many lower-income workers continue to move around, while those who make more money are staying home and limiting their exposure to the coronavirus, according to smartphone location data analyzed by The New York Times. Although people in all income groups are moving less than they did before the crisis, wealthier people are staying home the most, especially during the workweek. Not only that, but in nearly every state, they began doing so days before the poor, giving them a head start on social distancing as the virus spread, according to aggregated data from the location analysis company Cuebiq, which tracks about 15 million cellphone users nationwide daily." ~~~
~~~ Akilah Johnson & Talia Buford of ProPublica: "No, the coronavirus is not an 'equalizer.' Black people are being infected and dying at higher rates." The article explains why, based on historical data & on the scant data available that suggests race is a significant factor in the spread of Covid-19.
Mike Cason of AL.com: “Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris have issued an order for Alabama residents to stay at home except for 'essential activities' effective at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The governor announced the update to state measures to control the coronanvirus pandemic at the Capitol this afternoon. The order states that it will remain in full force and effect until 5 p.m. on April 30. 'Prior to 5:00 p.m. on April 30, 2020, a determination shall be made whether to extend this Order -- or, if circumstances permit, to relax this Order.'... The governor also issued a proclamation granting temporary relief from disclosures and evictions from residences." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Howell Raines, the former executive editor of the New York Times & an Alabama native said on MSNBC that the order was surprisingly strong and all the more remarkable because, "People down here don't want a governor like Andrew Cuomo who goes out looking for problems to solve." (Could be a slight paraphrase, but close.)
This is happening daily in New York City (and in other hard-hit cities around the world:
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Lachlan Markay & Lloyd Grove of the Daily Beast: 'Amid the mushrooming coronavirus crisis, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are girding for a pandemic of public-interest lawsuits over misinformation and conspiracy theories dispensed by certain Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network personalities such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Trish Regan. According to a top Murdoch executive, the father-and-son media moguls are ready to go to war with potential plaintiffs such as the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics -- aka WASHLITE -- an activist non-profit that filed suit on Thursday against Rupert Murdoch, Fox News, and other defendants. The 10-page complaint, first reported by The Times of San Diego and filed in the superior court of Washington state's King County, seeks a judgment that the Murdoch-controlled outlets violated the state's consumer protection laws by 'falsely and deceptively disseminating "News" via cable news contracts that the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 was a "Hoax," and that the virus was otherwise not a danger to public health and safety.'"
Daniel Lippman, et al., of Politico: "The White House is close to selecting a nominee to be the Pentagon's policy chief, following the ouster of John Rood in February as part of President Donald Trump's loyalty purge. Douglas Macgregor, a retired Army colonel and frequent Fox News commentator, and Anthony Tata, a retired Army brigadier general, former state bureaucrat and also a Fox News regular, are the leading candidates for the job of undersecretary of defense for policy[.]" --s
Presidential Race
Natasha Korecki & Zach Montellaro of Politico: "In a reversal, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced he wants to postpone his state's Tuesday election. The Democrat called the state legislature into a special session on Saturday to take up legislation that would avoid in-person voting and create an all-mail election with a deadline of May 26 to return ballots -- which was swiftly rejected by Republican leaders in the state. Evers had previously called for a predominantly mail-in election, but not for the election to be postponed. Republicans rejected Evers' earlier push for ballots to be mailed to every registered voter.... 'If they take no action, we'll be looking at whatever action we can take,' he said. 'We will continue to find ways to make sure Wisconsinites are safe, and that's the bottom line.'"
Andrew Desiderio & Besty Woodruf Swan of Politico: "A key Senate committee is vowing to press forward with its investigation targeting former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter, despite logistical challenges posed by the global coronavirus pandemic. The probe, which Democrats vigorously oppose, has fueled tension among the Senate's ranks, even breaking out into a rare and previously unreported verbal altercation between senators during a classified briefing.... Democrats have said the investigation targeting Hunter Biden threatens the integrity of the 2020 election and undermines U.S. national security, saying it could aid Russian intelligence.... Meanwhile, the delayed timeline for the investigation makes it likely that any information related to Hunter Biden could be released closer to Election Day." --s
Florida's 'Sh!t Sandwich'. Gary Fineout & Marc Caputo of Politico: "Already anxious about Trump's chances in the nation's biggest swing state, Republicans now are dealing with thousands of unemployed workers unable to navigate the Florida system to apply for help. And the blowback is directed straight at Trump's top allies in the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.... Privately, Republicans admit that the $77.9 million system that is now failing Florida workers is doing exactly what Scott designed it to do -- lower the state's reported number of jobless claims after the great recession. 'It's a sh-- sandwich, and it was designed that way by Scott,' said one DeSantis advisor.... 'It was about making it harder for people to get benefits or keep benefits so that the unemployment numbers were low to give the governor something to brag about.'" --s
News Lede
CNN: "The search for two members of the Kennedy family -- Maeve Kennedy McKean and her son, Gideon -- was suspended 26 hours after they were reported missing in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Maryland, the Coast Guard said Friday night. Authorities confirmed McKean and her 8-year-old son were the missing individuals. They were last seen on Thursday evening."
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