Tag: Trump botched COVID-19 response

What Trump’s orders will and won’t do for payroll taxes, unemployment benefits

The Hill logo President Trump over the weekend signed executive orders on payroll taxes, unemployment benefits, student loans and evictions, seeking to take matters into his own hands as negotiations with Democrats over coronavirus relief legislation have stalled.

The White House argues that the executive orders will provide relief to Americans who are struggling financially as a result of the coronavirus recession.

But Democrats have argued that Trump’s orders won’t be effective or sufficient. Many Republicans support the president’s moves, but some conservatives are questioning their legality. Continue reading.

Governors air frustrations with Trump on unemployment plans

The Hill logo Governors and state officials aired their frustrations on Monday with a memo from President Trump that would require states to cover a portion of enhanced unemployment benefits for their residents.

Trump’s order would put a further strain on state governments already facing budget constraints as the coronavirus pandemic has dried up revenue sources. 

The timing of the memo adds insult to injury for some states. The president spent weeks railing against including state aid in any final stimulus measure, deriding it as a “bailout” for Democratic-run states.  Continue reading.

State aid emerges as major hurdle to reviving COVID-19 talks

The Hill logoFederal money for state and local governments is a key sticking point to reviving negotiations over the next coronavirus relief package.

The White House and congressional Democrats are deeply divided over whether states should get more money — and if so, how much.

Before talks collapsed late last week, the two sides were hundreds of billions apart on how much they were willing to put on the table. Democrats want $915 billion, while Republicans are offering $150 billion, the same amount included in the CARES Act from late March. Continue reading.

Trump unloads in morning interviews as U.S. struggles to tame virus

With Covid-19 threatening the president’s reelection effort, he stoked culture wars and railed against China.

President Donald Trump let loose in a pair of lengthy radio interviews Tuesday morning, weighing in on foreign affairs and cultural flashpoints while continuing to speak dismissively of the rampant coronavirus threat.

Much of the president’s remarks centered on the return of sports amid the pandemic, as he railed against athletes who refuse to stand during the national anthem and rallied for college football to resume in the fall.

“These football players are very young, strong people and — physically. I mean, they’re physically in extraordinary shape,” Trump told Fox Sports Radio’s Clay Travis in a more-than-20-minute conversation. Continue reading.

Minnesota Health officials issue strict new guidance for visits to senior care facilities

Faced with an alarming resurgence of the coronavirus in senior living facilities, state health officials are recommending strict new guidelines around when and how these facilities should further open their doors to outside visitors.

The Minnesota Department of Health released detailed guidance Monday for the reopening of Minnesota’s long-term care facilities to family members and outside caregivers. For the first time, state regulators are recommending that facilities consider COVID-19 infection rates in the community, among other factors, before any further relaxing of their visitation policies.

The guidelines mark a shift by state regulators toward a more cautious posture in allowing visitors to long-term care facilities, which have seen a surge of new coronavirus cases in recent weeks. They are recommending that facilities meet minimum safety standards and consider community infection rates, similar to the decentralized approach that was developed for schools. At the same time, state health regulators stopped short of pulling back on recent steps to ease visitor restrictions, citing concerns about the harmful effects of prolonged isolation and loneliness. Continue reading.

New Trump chief of staff drew hard line during relief talks, challenging Democrats’ approach

Washington Post logoIrritated by multiple leaks during the coronavirus relief negotiations, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi instituted a rule forbidding participants from bringing in their phones, so that talks couldn’t be recorded.

But on Wednesday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows refused to surrender his device upon entering Pelosi’s office, insisting he had an important call to take, according to two people familiar with the episode who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe it.

Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Meadows that the phone had to go, or he did.

Still Meadows refused. Continue reading.

Nation’s governors raise concerns about implementing Trump executive moves, call on Congress to act

Washington Post logoOn Capitol Hill, lawmakers trade blame as talks show no signs of life

The nation’s governors raised concerns on a bipartisan basis Monday about implementing President Trump’s new executive action aimed at extending enhanced unemployment insurance, and called on Congress to act instead.

But on Capitol Hill, negotiations showed no signs of life as Democrats and Republicans traded accusations about their failure to reach a deal during two weeks of talks that collapsed on Friday.

In their statement, the governors pointed to “significant administrative burdens and costs” associated with attempting to implement a new plan Trump announced over the weekend, which would attempt to provide $400 weekly emergency unemployment benefits, with states required to apply for the funds and pay a quarter of the cost. Continue reading.

28-year-old coronavirus denier spent 69 days in the ICU and now has to relearn how to walk

If there ever was a time for the entire world to put its differences aside and work together, this is it. The novel coronavirus is so contagious that everyone has to his or her part to limit the spread. But the sad truth is that it’s not happening. People want to return to their normal lives, no matter the risks. Some defy the rules knowing precisely what the worst-case scenario is. Others deny the threat, foolishly thinking either that COVID-19 is a hoax, or that the virus can’t infect or kill them. We’ve seen plenty of examples of coronavirus deniers experiencing that worst-case scenario. But even so, plenty of people are still willing to ignore safety measures like social distancing and face masks, which can significantly reduce the risk of transmission.

The latest example of how not to approach the pandemic involves a 28-year-old mother who is in store for months grueling of rehab. She spent 69 days in bed after contracting the virus, and now she’ll have to relearn how to walk. She can’t even comb her hair, and her health will take months to improve.

This story comes from Spain, proving that ignorance and irresponsibility aren’t limited to the United States. Vanessa Martinez was admitted to the ICU with COVID-19 on April 22nd, at a time when Spain was still battling massive COVID-19 outbreaks. The country was the pandemic’s epicenter for weeks, sharing that tile with Italy. Both countries have been able to significantly flatten the curve, although new outbreaks are always possible. Continue reading.

Trump’s executive orders spark confusion among businesses and state officials as Democrats assail them as ‘unworkable’

Washington Post logoPresident Trump’s new executive actions to disburse coronavirus relief without congressional approval sparked confusion and frustration on Sunday among businesses, Democrats and state officials, some of whom lamented the moves would not deliver the necessary relief to cash-strapped Americans.

Trump’s directives were aimed at offering new unemployment benefits, protecting renters from eviction and postponing the payment of a federal tax. But some economists and experts faulted these policies as incomplete or legally questionable — raising the prospect that the president’s attempt to boost the economy may have only a muted impact.

One of the orders allows employees making less than $104,000 to delay until January payment of a payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare. Trump added he would try to change federal rules next year to make the deferred payments into a permanent tax cut — but only if he is reelected. Continue reading.

Coronavirus update: U.S. infections surpass 5 million

Washington Post logoThe number of reported coronavirus cases in the United States surpassed 5 million on Sunday, double the number since the end of June, as the Midwest grappled with new spikes and states across the South and the West fought to contain surges.

The 5 million mark comes just 17 days after the U.S. total exceeded 4 million, according to The Washington Post’s tracking. The previous million cases were also reported in about a two-week span.

Reported U.S. cases have doubled since late June, peaking on July 17 with a staggering 76,491 cases in a single day. The United States leads the world with a quarter of all global infections. Brazil and India follow, with 3 million and 2.1 million reported infections, respectively. Continue reading.