Tag: Trump White House

White House economist who just announced resignation tests positive for COVID-19

The Hill logoA White House economist who just announced this week that he will be leaving his post said he tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month.

Tomas Philipson, who said this week he will resign as acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, confirmed in an email to The Wall Street Journal that he experienced a “very mild case of one day of fever” and that the White House had a “very capable medical team that managed my case exceptionally well during the infection.”

He added that his health is now back to normal, but did not clarify when he was diagnosed or whether he had returned to work prior to his announcement this week. Continue reading.

While Virus Spikes Across America, White House Praises Its Own Response

As the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of slowing, Donald Trump is declaring victory.

On Monday, the seven-day average for new coronavirus cases surged 30 percent higher than a week before. On Wednesday, the nation broke its previous record for most new cases in a day, with 36,880. Hospitals in hot spots are running out of beds, and more than half of states are seeing increasing numbers of cases.

The Trump administration has spent the week praising itself for a job well done.

The Washington Post reported that Mike Pence had told Republican senators on Wednesday to pay attention to “encouraging signs,” such as the fact that cases were only increasing in 12 states. The Post debunked this false claim, noting the number of states with increasing infection rates was actually much higher. Continue reading.

A second senior economist is abruptly leaving the White House amid ongoing economic crisis

Washington Post logoTomas Philipson announced he is stepping down two days after Kevin Hassett announced his departure

One of President Trump’s senior economic officials has abruptly left the White House in the middle of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He becomes the second senior White House economic official whose departure was announced this month.

Tomas J. Philipson, acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, will leave his post by the end of June, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email. The announcement comes two days after Kevin Hassett, a senior White House economic official and Philipson’s predecessor as chair of the CEA, announced he would also be stepping down. Hassett was brought back to the administration this winter but is preparing to step away again.

“After 3 great years at CEA I am departing back to University Chicago soon that permitted an unusual extended 3 years of leave,” Philipson wrote on Twitter. “It’s been an honor and privilege to work for and with this President!” Continue reading.

Steve Schmidt Unloads On The White House For Covering Up Trump’s Declining Health

Former GOP strategist Steve Schmidt ripped the White House on Tuesday for running a massive cover-up of Donald Trump’s declining physical and mental health.

During an interview with MSNBC’s Ari Melber, Schmidt said the president’s health is clearly deteriorating before our eyes, pointing out that Trump “routinely slurs” and is “often confused.”

“The enfeeblement of the president is something we’re all watching happen before our eyes,” Schmidt said. “The Donald Trump of 2020 is a different Donald Trump than he was in 2016.” Continue reading.

John Bolton details how Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner wield power behind the scenes

AlterNet logoFormer Trump national security adviser John Bolton revealed in an interview with ABC News broadcast Sunday that the most powerful person in the White House was Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.

“Next to the president, who held the most power in the White House?” ABC News’ Martha Raddatz asked Bolton.

“It varied from time to time,” Bolton responded. “The sustained answer to that question . . . is Jared Kushner.” Continue reading.

Secret Service forces press to leave White House as police use hoses, pepper spray and batons to beat back protesters

AlterNet logoWithout initially offering an explanation, the Secret Service late Monday ordered members of the press to leave the White House grounds as law enforcement officials in riot gear used pepper spray and batons to beat back a nearby protest at which some attempted to topple a statue of former President Andrew Jackson.

A spokesperson for the Secret Service said in a statement hours later that “four members of the media were misdirected by the Secret Service to leave the White House grounds.”

“The members of the press were rerouted to exits on the south side of the complex for their own safety” as demonstrations raged in Lafayette Park, the agency spokesperson said. Continue reading.

The White House is trying to clean up Trump’s horrifying admission about testing — but Mike Pence confirmed the worst: report

AlterNet logoDuring his speech at a campaign rally in Tulsa on Saturday, President Donald Trump told the crowd that he had ordered his staff to slow down the amount of coronavirus testing — sparking a fierce backlash from those who have long criticized his handling of the pandemic as inept, if not outright corrupt. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the comment during a press briefing on Monday, saying that Trump was speaking “in jest.” But Trump’s critics have their doubts, fearing that the president really does want to cut back on testing for COVID-19.

McEnany told reporters that Trump was “not joking about coronavirus” but rather, was poking fun at the press while speaking “in jest.”

However, CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe reported on Twitter that when Vice President Mike Pence was speaking to governors during a conference call on Monday, he told them that Trump’s “comments at an Oklahoma campaign rally about slowing down testing for #Coronavirus were just ‘a passing observation’ and not meant in jest.” Continue reading.

Kevin Hassett, senior Trump economic adviser, to leave White House

Washington Post logoHe had emerged as a leading voice on the economic impact of the coronavirus. It will be the second time he has left the Trump White House.

One of President Trump’s most trusted economic advisers will leave the White House this summer amid one of the worst economic crises in decades.

Kevin Hassett, who returned to the White House as an unpaid volunteer in March, said in an interview that his departure is in line with the administration’s initial plan when he was brought back. Hassett said his agreement was to return to the White House for about 90 days, and he has already stayed for more than that amount of time.

But Hassett’s upcoming departure — first reported by Axios — could alarm critics who worry that the White House lacks respected economic officials to guide the nation through the economic calamity caused by the virus. Continue reading.

Trump Threatens Bolton With ‘Bombs Dropped on Him!’ After Judge Rejects Block of Book

Bolton “likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!” the president said

In an unhinged Twitter rant, President Donald Trump went after his former national security adviser John Bolton, threatening him and using violent language following a judge’s decision to allow publication of Bolton’s upcoming book.

On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District of Columbia rejected Trump’s request to block publication of the book. But Trump pounced on Lamberth’s criticism of Bolton in the decision by raging on Twitter that the former national security adviser liked “killing people” and that he would pay “a really big price” and “will have bombs dropped on him!”

“Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing, with a really big price to pay. He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!” the president wrote. Continue reading.