Jamie Dupree

Trump presses for relaxed virus restrictions on churches

5/22/2020

Pushing on states to loosen Coronavirus limits on business, schools, and restaurants, President Donald Trump on Thursday escalated warnings from his administration about re-opening churches, accusing Democratic Governors of standing in the way of religious liberty. 'One of the other things I want to do is get the churches open,' the President told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before going to Michigan. 'The churches are not being treated with respect by a lot of Democrat Governors,' President Trump said. 'I want to get our churches open.' The President's remarks amplified growing calls among Republicans for virus restrictions to be dropped on churches, part of a broader GOP argument against Democrats over how the Coronavirus has been dealt with. Mr. Trump's comments also come as the Centers for Disease has yet to issue guidelines about how churches should deal with the Coronavirus re-opening, amid press reports that the White House has rejected the idea of limits on church activities. The President's statement to reporters came two days after the Justice Department warned the state of California its Coronavirus rules might be discriminating against churches. 'Simply put, there is no pandemic exception to the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights,' read part of a three page letter from the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division. But even with highly restricted church operations in California, there have been Coronavirus infections. In northern California, a Mother's Day church service earlier this month - live streamed to parishioners by a skeleton crew at a church - resulted in three people being infected by the Coronavirus. And in another Mother's Day church service - this time a gathering of some 180 people north of Sacramento - one person who attended tested positive for the virus the next day. Earlier this week, the CDC issued a review of a Coronavirus cluster outbreak at a church in Arkansas, where the pastor and his wife seemingly spurred dozens of cases, which also spread to the larger community. Of the 92 people who attended church events with those two, at least 35 were infected, and three ended up dying. 'Churches should open when it is safe to do so,' wrote Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest, and editor of America Magazine. 'Churches should open when public health officials, who know more about epidemiology than church leaders do, conclude that it is safe to do so,' Martin wrote, responding to President Trump's remarks on Thursday.

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- May 22, 2020 at 07:55AM
Trump presses for relaxed virus restrictions on churches
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Trump may head to Florida for SpaceX manned test flight on May 27

5/22/2020

While NASA officials have urged the public not to mass near the Kennedy Space Center for next week's manned test flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft because of Coronavirus concerns, President Donald Trump indicated Thursday he may be ready for a VIP visit. 'I'm thinking about going, that will be next week, to the rocket launch,' the President told reporters before leaving for a day trip to Michigan. The test flight, which would be the first manned space flight launched from the U.S. in almost nine years, is set for May 27. Mr. Trump playfully jabbed at reporters about a possible visit to the launch. 'I hope you're all going to join me. I'd like to put you on the rocket, get rid of you for a while,' the President said. A possible trip to Florida next week comes as President Trump presses states to drop their Coronavirus restrictions, and allow shuttered businesses to re-open. Mr. Trump has been traveling more frequently in recent weeks, going to Michigan on Thursday, Pennsylvania last week, and Arizona earlier this month. The White House has indicated Mr. Trump will go to Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Monday to celebrate Memorial Day. But that does not mean local political dignitaries will be on hand. President Trump also indicated on Thursday that the meeting of the G7 nations would be held next month despite the virus, possibly split between Washington and Camp David.

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- May 22, 2020 at 07:55AM
Trump may head to Florida for SpaceX manned test flight on May 27
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Supreme Court holds off immediate release of Mueller grand jury materials

5/21/2020

The U.S. Supreme Court edged closer to possible oral arguments on whether secret grand jury materials gathered during the Russia investigation should be shared with committees in Congress, putting on hold an order from lower courts for the feds to turn over those materials. In an order issued Wednesday afternoon, the Justices invited the feds to ask the High Court to accept the case for review, giving the Justice Department a June 1 deadline to submit a writ of certiorari. If the Justices were to accept the case, arguments would not take place until the fall, possibly right around the November elections. In March, a three judge panel of the D.C. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Democrats in Congress, saying lawmakers have the right to go through the materials gathered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his investigators. 'Because the Department of Justice is simply the custodian of the grand jury materials at issue however, the instant case is unlike inter-branch disputes where Congress issued subpoenas and directed Executive Branch officials to testify and produce their relevant documents,' wrote Judge Judith Rogers in the 2-1 decision.

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- May 21, 2020 at 07:15AM
Supreme Court holds off immediate release of Mueller grand jury materials
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Trump threatens Democratic states but not GOP over mail ballots

5/21/2020

President Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked the swing state of Michigan for sending out mail-in ballot applications for elections in 2020, ignoring a series of Republican states which have done the exact same thing to help people vote during the Coronavirus outbreak. 'Trump is spreading lies about voting (again),' said Marc Elias, a top Democratic Party election lawyer. “Donald Trump is exploiting a pandemic to suppress Americans' votes in November,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), whose state votes entirely by mail. On Twitter, the President first incorrectly accused the state of Michigan of sending out mail-in ballots to all registered voters; instead, the state has sent absentee ballot applications, just like a series of other GOP states. Michigan Secretary of State went on Twitter to respond to the President's criticism, saying she's following the lead of others in sending out applications for mail-in ballots. 'Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia,' Jocelyn Benson said. '@RealDonaldTrump 's revenge politics is petty & pathetic,' said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI). In his Twitter shots at Michigan and Nevada, the President threatened to withhold federal funding for those states, if they went ahead with their mail-in balloting plans. 'State of Nevada “thinks” that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S.,' the President tweeted 'They can’t! If they do, “I think” I can hold up funds to the State.' While Nevada has a Democratic Governor, the Republican Secretary of State opted for a full mail-in ballot primary election. The President made no threats on Wednesday to withhold federal funding from Republican-controlled states which have send out absentee ballot applications to all registered voters, like Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska, and West Virginia. The attacks on mail-in ballots are part of the President's broader accusation that mail-in voting is rife with fraud, a charge which is not backed up by evidence from states which conduct mail-in elections. Mr. Trump voted in Florida's primary this year by using a mail-in absentee ballot. 'Trump is falsely calling vote by mail fraud - even though he votes by mail,' said Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA). The President's criticism of Nevada drew an especially sharp response from two Democratic lawmakers in Congress. “Trump is threatening to harm Nevadans because our Republican Secretary of State is making it easier for them to vote,” said Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV). “He'll do anything to distract the public from his incompetent COVID-19 response.”

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- May 21, 2020 at 07:15AM
Trump threatens Democratic states, but not GOP, over mail ballots
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Trump says high number of Coronavirus cases is tribute to testing

5/20/2020

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said it was a 'badge of honor' that the United States leads the world in the number of Coronavirus cases, as he said the main reason is the growing testing capability nationwide for the virus. 'I view it as a badge of honor,' the President told reporters during a White House Cabinet meeting. 'It's a great tribute to the testing, and all of the work that a lot of professionals have done.' 'If we were testing a million people instead of 14 million people, we would have far fewer cases,' Mr. Trump added. The President's comments came as the number of U.S. virus cases topped 1.5 million on Tuesday, with the death toll moving over 90,000 Americans in just three months. The President's comments came as he again defended his decision to take the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, in an effort to ward off the Coronavirus. After a meeting with GOP Senators on Capitol Hill, the President was asked why he would take a drug which his own Food and Drug Administration had urged Americans to avoid taking for the virus. 'Well, I've worked with doctors,' President Trump answered, as he denounced a study which raised questions about the use of the drug, a 'Trump-enemy statement.' The President offered no evidence to back up his claim on the study. Mr. Trump also claimed Tuesday that meat packing plants - which have featured a number of Coronavirus infection hot spots - are almost fully cured of the virus, though reporting in multiple states about positive cases at those plants shows otherwise. 'That's going away. The plants are very, very clean now,' as the President claimed the plants were 'cleaner than they've ever been.' Democrats disputed the President's rosy assertion about meat packing facilities. 'I have repeatedly called on this Administration to issue mandatory protections to keep workers safe and healthy, but Trump is again failing to get the job done,' said Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). The issue could come up at the White House on Wednesday, when the Governor of Kansas visits. That state has seen some 1,800 infections at a series of meat packing plants, but only a handful of deaths.

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- May 20, 2020 at 06:45AM
Trump says high number of Coronavirus cases is tribute to testing
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Schools wrestle with Coronavirus impact on fall schedule

5/20/2020

As states relax their restrictions imposed in March because of the Coronavirus outbreak, schools at all levels are now trying to figure out the best road ahead in the fall, with deep uncertainty about how the virus outbreak will impact kids from pre-school to college. In recent days, two major universities have announced they would scrap a standard fall break for students, worried the travel from school to home - and then back to school - could further spread the virus. 'Two major changes will stand out as you review the following schedule,' wrote University of South Carolina President Bob Caslen. 'First, there will be no Fall Break and second, we will conclude face-to-face instruction at Thanksgiving Break.' At the University of Notre Dame, classes will start on August 10, two weeks earlier than normal, with no fall break in October, and an end to classes by Thanksgiving. 'Bringing our students back is in effect assembling a small city of people from many parts of the nation and the world, who may bring with them pathogens to which they have been exposed,' said Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame's President. At Purdue University, the school calendar is being compressed as well, with no day off for Labor Day, and an end to classes by late November. 'Please note that the campus will not close after Thanksgiving break, the residence halls will be open, etc. — we simply will not have face-to-face instruction after Thanksgiving,' wrote Purdue Provost Jay Akridge. At this point, most colleges have not spelled out the details of their plans for the fall, for example the University of Florida will have task forces report back on various options by June 1. While the schedules for colleges and universities might have a higher profile, there are also many parents wondering whether their kids will have regular instruction in elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide. 'We can't count on a vaccine or a dramatic treatment success,' said former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. 'Schools are important. Keeping them closed will cause health, educational, economic, and societal harms.' Some jurisdictions have already floated the idea of having more in-person teaching for elementary school students, while junior and senior high schools would focus more energy on online learning. But much of that is still to be determined by hundreds of school districts around the country. When it comes to colleges, one unknown is whether there will be sports this fall - especially football. Back in 1918, both World War I and the flu outbreak in the United States caused havoc with the college football schedule. For example, the University of Nebraska and Notre Dame had to set three different dates for a football clash, before finally holding their game late in November of 1918.

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- May 20, 2020 at 06:45AM
Schools wrestle with Coronavirus impact on fall schedule
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Trump taking hydroxychloroquine to defend against Coronavirus

5/19/2020

Despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration about the use of a malaria drug to ward off the Coronavirus, President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he is taking hydroxycholorquine, saying that he started using the malaria drug several weeks ago. 'You'd be surprised how many people are taking it,' the President said to reporters during a round table with restaurant industry leaders at the White House. 'I happen to be taking it,' Mr. Trump said, drawing immediate questions in the White House State Dining Room. 'I'm taking it. Hydroxychloroquine. Right now, yeah,' Mr. Trump added. “I'm not going to get hurt by it,” the President said, telling reporters that he's been taking the drug for several weeks. “It's been around for 40 years, for malaria, for lupus. I'd take it,” Mr. Trump added. The disclosure by the President comes several weeks after the FDA issued a public warning against the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19, because of the risk of heart troubles. 'The FDA is aware of reports of serious heart rhythm problems in patients with COVID-19 treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with azithromycin and other QT prolonging medicines,” the FDA stated. “Patients who also have other health issues such as heart and kidney disease are likely to be at increased risk of these heart problems when receiving these medicines,” the FDA added. The President said he decided to take the drug - which was approved by the White House doctor - in part because of letters from doctors saying it was helping their patients. “I would have told you three, four days ago,” the President said to reporters, “but you never asked me the question.” The surprise disclosure by the President continued his public defiance of health experts over the malaria drug, as he continues to press it as a way to help people to ward off the virus. But that has not swayed some at one of his favorite news networks. “This will kill you,” said Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto soon after the President's announcement. 'Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19,' the FDA stated on April 24. Democrats in Congress were incredulous. 'As with injecting bleach, please do not listen to the President,' said Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI). 'Listen to your doctor instead.' Along with possible heart issues, past studies by the National Institutes of Health have found psychiatric issues as well. “Hydroxychloroquine can induce adverse effects on the central nervous system, from irritability, nervousness, and emotional changes to true psychoses,” one NIH study reported in 2017.

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- May 19, 2020 at 05:45AM
Trump taking hydroxychloroquine to defend against Coronavirus
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

As states ease restrictions Coronavirus deaths drop in U.S.

5/18/2020

The number of deaths in the U.S. from the Coronavirus dropped to its lowest level last week since the start of April, as health experts say a continued decline in cases from New York - and no new major outbreaks in other urban areas - has slowed the spread of the virus. 'In most states the number of cases are either declining or flat,' said Scott Gottlieb, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, as he said the data shows 'evidence of an epidemic that slowed dramatically.' The death toll remains substantial. There were 9,260 reported deaths in the U.S. last week, well off the high of nearly 15,000 in the final full week of April. But even with the slowing number of deaths, federal health officials expect the U.S. will reach 100,000 deaths by the end of this month. The Centers for Disease Control reported in recent days that visits to doctors and emergency rooms which are likely related to the Coronavirus are also declining, 'likely in part a result of widespread efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.' But while those numbers are declining, medical experts are also wondering what might be next, especially as businesses re-open, and states relax their virus restrictions. 'This is an interesting question with no straightforward answer,' wrote Dr. Bertha Hidalgo of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health. 'In some cases, states are reopening where we are starting to see a decrease in rates of infection. In other cases, states are reopening and case and death counts continue to increase,' Hidalgo said. One of the states seeing higher case numbers in recent days was Texas, but it's too early to tell whether that is just a function of more people being tested, or if there is an actual surge of new cases. On Saturday, Texas had its highest day of new virus cases yet, at 1,801 - but about one-third of those came from a meatpacking plant outbreak in Amarillo.

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- May 18, 2020 at 05:41AM
As states ease restrictions, Coronavirus deaths drop in U.S.
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

House approves rules change to allow remote voting committee work

5/16/2020

Looking for ways to do legislative business without exposing members and staff to the Coronavirus, House Democrats pushed through a rules change on Friday to allow members to vote on the House floor even if they aren't present on Capitol Hill, and okayed the use of remote hearings to conduct committee business during a pandemic. 'The House has the constitutional authority to institute remote voting by proxy,' said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the chair of the powerful House Rules Committee. Democrats said the rules changes would allow them to more easily perform the work of Congress, and not have lawmakers spreading the Coronavirus around the country by going back and forth to Washington, D.C. 'My office in Miami is not getting calls,' said Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL). 'We're getting cries for help.' The remote voting change - a first in the history of the House - was roundly denounced by Republicans as anti-democratic. 'The Democrats’ plan to implement proxy voting destroys 200 years of precedent,' said Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX). 'The American people elected us to represent them, not stay at home and give their vote away.' 'These are strange times,' said Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA), who labeled the plan from Democrats, 'the single largest rules change the House of Representatives have seen in any of our lifetimes.' 'Today we are in fact suspending the Constitution,' argued Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). 'We are allowing proxies to establish a quorum and do the business of the American people.' 'Today is a dark day in the history of our country,' said Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). But Democrats countered the plan would not only allow for remote voting to keep lawmakers safe, but let committee work proceed as well. 'We need a more comprehensive, full, e-Congress capability,' said Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI). The Senate has tweaked its rules to allow for video hookups during hearings, but has not taken the next step to remote voting. Under this new House plan, hearings could be done remotely, as well as committee work on bills known as markups. On the House floor, members could give their 'proxy' to another lawmaker to vote a specific way, as directed in a letter. No member could direct more than 10 proxy votes.

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- May 16, 2020 at 04:41AM
House approves rules change to allow remote voting, committee work
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

Trump unveils 'Operation Warp Speed' to develop virus vaccine

5/16/2020

Comparing it to the Manhattan Project which delivered nuclear weapons during World War II, President Donald Trump on Friday announced a new coordinated plan to develop a vaccine against the Coronavirus, expressing the hope that it could be delivered to Americans much quicker than many experts have predicted. 'Again, we would love to see if we could do it prior to the end of the year,' the President said during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House. 'America will meet the moment,' Mr. Trump added. 'It's called Operation Warp Speed.' 'That means big, and it means fast,' the President said. 'We will get the job done,' declared Defense Secretary Mark Esper, as the Pentagon will lend its resources to the research effort. Along with Pentagon support, the President tapped Dr. Moncef Slaoui to be the vaccine development chief for the Coronavirus project. 'I am honored to be asked by the Administration to take on this important responsibility,” said Slaoui. Working with Slaoui will be U.S. Army General Gustave Perna. As he announced the new vaccine development efforts, the President again jawboned states to relax their virus restrictions, and allow businesses and schools to re-open. 'I think the schools should be back in the fall,' Mr. Trump told reporters. 'I think lots of things should happen.

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- May 16, 2020 at 04:41AM
Trump unveils 'Operation Warp Speed' to develop virus vaccine
Click on this headline to read the full story at Jamie Dupree - Washington Insider

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