Following Outcry From Lawmakers, Trump Mulls Extending Federal Deployment Of National Guard
Earlier in the week, Politico reported that the Trump administration considered pulling back the national guard personnel, who are working across the nation on relief efforts. But scores of lawmakers wrote in to try to change the president's mind, saying such a move would endanger Americans' lives. In other news on President Donald Trump's response efforts: intelligence briefings, criticism of former President Barack Obama and a continued focus on scapegoating China. Meanwhile, the president says he will wrap up his regime of taking dangerous malaria drugs.
Trump administration officials are preparing plans to extend the federal deployment of more than 40,000 National Guard members performing coronavirus relief work across the country, after scores of lawmakers moved to pressure President Donald Trump to keep the Guards in place past June. Four people familiar with the matter said the administration is prepared to extend the deployments through July, which would maintain federal funding for troops administering Covid-19 tests, disinfecting nursing homes and performing other public safety duties in nearly every state and federal territory. (Ollstein and Lippman, 5/20)
President Trump has blamed many others for his administration鈥檚 flawed response to the coronavirus: China, governors, the Obama administration, the World Health Organization. In recent weeks, he has also faulted the information he received from an obscure analyst who delivers his intelligence briefings. Mr. Trump has insisted that the intelligence agencies gave him inadequate warnings about the threat of the virus, describing it as 鈥渘ot a big deal.鈥 Intelligence officials have publicly backed him, acknowledging that Beth Sanner, the analyst who regularly briefs the president, underplayed the dangers when she first mentioned the virus to him on Jan. 23. (Barnes and Goldman, 5/21)
Donald Trump in April 2009 said the Obama administration was handling the 鈥媏arly days of the 2009-2010 H1N1 outbreak 鈥"fine鈥" and warned against overreacting to the new virus. The comments from Trump, made on a Fox News appearance from April 鈥24, 2009, 鈥媋re at odds with his recent criticisms of the Obama administration, which he has frequently attacked for its pandemic preparations and response to H1N1. In a March tweet, Trump said that "their response to H1N1 Swine Flu was a full scale disaster." (Steck and Kaczynski, 5/20)
Beyond its hard-hitting rhetoric against China over its handling of the coronavirus, the White House has issued a broad-scale attack on Beijing鈥檚 predatory economic policies, military buildup, disinformation campaigns and human rights violations. The 20-page report does not signal a shift in U.S. policy, according to a senior administration official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the report and spoke only on condition of anonymity, but it expands on Trump鈥檚 get-tough rhetoric that he hopes will resonate with voters angry about China鈥檚 handling of the disease outbreak that has left tens of millions of Americans out of work. (Riechmann, 5/21)
The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has been conspicuously absent from national television interviews over the last two weeks, as the White House moves ahead with reopening the economy. Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, last gave a television interview when he spoke to CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on May 4th. Prior to his recent absence from the airwaves, Fauci was regularly appearing on national news programs to update the American people on the country's fight against the coronavirus. (Darcy, 5/20)
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the regimen of an anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine that he is taking to ward off the coronavirus finishes in the next day or two. Trump revealed this week he was taking the drug despite medical warnings about potential serious side effects and questions about its effectiveness in preventing COVID-19. (5/20)
President Trump's physician prescribed hydroxychloroquine for him as a preventative measure against the coronavirus,聽White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed Wednesday amid criticism and questions about whether Trump is actually taking the drug. "Yes, the doctor did prescribe it for him. And he took it after having several discussions with Dr. [Sean] Conley about its efficacy," McEnany told聽David Brody of CBN News. (Samuels, 5/20)
The World Health Organization, which has come under repeated fire from U.S. President Donald Trump, says the science is still unclear on an old malaria drug he鈥檚 taking to try to defend against the novel coronavirus. It says it recommends the drug鈥檚 use for COVID-19 only in controlled clinical trials for now. (Keaten, 5/21)
