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The government’s emergency stockpile of respirator masks, gloves and other medical supplies is running low and is nearly exhausted due to the coronavirus outbreak, leaving the Trump administration and the states to compete for personal protective equipment in a freewheeling global marketplace rife with profiteering and price-gouging, according to Department of Homeland Security officials involved in the frantic acquisition effort.

As coronavirus hot spots flare from coast to coast, the demand for safety equipment — also known as personal protective equipment (PPE) — is both immediate and widespread, with health officials, hospital executives and governors saying that their shortages are critical and that health-care workers are putting their lives at risk while trying to help the surging number of patients.

Two DHS officials said the stores kept in the Department of Health and Human Services’ Strategic National Stockpile are nearly gone. Continue reading.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN—In light of the unprecedented health crisis facing our country, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) announced today that the 2020 Democratic National Convention will now be held the week of August 17 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, providing convention planners more time to determine the most appropriate structure for this historic event.

“In our current climate of uncertainty, we believe the smartest approach is to take additional time to monitor how this situation unfolds so we can best position our party for a safe and successful convention. During this critical time, when the scope and scale of the pandemic and its impact remain unknown, we will continue to monitor the situation and follow the advice of health care professionals and emergency responders,” said Joe Solmonese, CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee. “I have always believed that American innovation and ingenuity shine brightest during our darkest days, and for that reason, I’m confident our convention planning team and our partners will find a way to deliver a convention in Milwaukee this summer that places our Democratic nominee on the path to victory in November.”

History will be made in Milwaukee when the 2020 Democratic National Convention takes place, not just because Democrats will nominate the next president and vice president of the United States, but because they’ll be doing it in a state that’s never before hosted a political party’s national convention. The Democratic Party believes that this important battleground state is the perfect place to share their vision for a safer, stronger country and lift up the voices of the working families that the party fights for every day. Continue reading “Democratic National Convention Committee Announces Date Change in Response to Unprecedented Coronavirus Outbreak”

The House passed a joint resolution on Friday that would overturn President Trump’s emergency declaration at the southern border, which has allowed him to divert other government spending to his wall.

The 236-174 vote drew support from 11 Republicans, but not enough to overturn an expected veto from the president.

The measure is aimed at preventing the diversion of $3.6 billion for military construction projects toward the construction of Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border without congressional approval.

View the complete September 27 article by Juliegrace Brufke on The Hill website here.

Republican lawmakers are battening down the hatches on Capitol Hill as they face a barrage of questions about President Trump’s communications with Ukraine, and whether the White House tried to cover it up.

While Republicans in the House have broadly backed Trump with a few exceptions, GOP lawmakers in the Senate on Thursday pulled back a bit on their defense in the wake of the release of a complaint that alleges Trump sought to enlist Ukraine in a politically motivated attack on former Vice President Joe Biden.

After offering a stouter defense of Trump on Wednesday after the White House released a rough transcript of Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, GOP lawmakers were more tight-lipped Thursday, saying they wanted to study the nine-page document.

View the complete September 27 article by Alexander Bolton and juliegrace Brufke on The Hill website here.

Click this link for a pdf of the complaint you can read or download.

The Senate again voted on Wednesday to end President Trump’s emergency declaration on the U.S.-Mexico border wall, paving the way for a veto showdown with the White House.

Senators voted 54–41 on a resolution to end the declaration, which Trump used to shift billions of dollars from the military toward wall construction.

Under the National Emergencies Act, a resolution ending the declaration needed only a simple majority to clear the Senate, making it likely to be approved. But underscoring the broad swath of concern about Trump’s actions among the Senate GOP caucus, 11 Republican senators voted to nix the declaration.

View the complete September 25 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

Donald Trump admitted on Tuesday that he held up aid to Ukraine before asking that country’s leaders to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden. But in the process of making that admission, Trump offered up a new excuse and a shift from his rhetoric the day before.

In Trump’s latest recounting of events, the aid to Ukraine was withheld because other countries did not offer to help — but then he decided to go ahead with the aid, even though the other funds didn’t come through.

“I want other countries to put up money, I think it’s unfair that we put up the money. The people call me, they say ‘oh, let it go,’ and I let it go,” Trump told reporters outside the United Nations.

View the complete September 24 article by Oliver Willis on the National Memo website here.

NOTE:  If you’re telling the truth, the story doesn’t change.

Reps. Gil Cisneros of California, Jason Crow of Colorado, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia are all freshman Democrats.

Our lives have been defined by national service. We are not career politicians. We are veterans of the military and of the nation’s defense and intelligence agencies. Our service is rooted in the defense of our country on the front lines of national security.

We have devoted our lives to the service and security of our country, and throughout our careers, we have sworn oaths to defend the Constitution of the United States many times over. Now, we join as a unified group to uphold that oath as we enter uncharted waters and face unprecedented allegations against President Trump. Continue reading “Seven freshman Democrats: These allegations are a threat to all we have sworn to protect”

Whether or not they agree on policy, a majority of Americans has never personally disliked the president — until Donald Trump came along, that is.

According to a Sunday poll from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, a historically high percentage of Americans (69 percent) personally dislike Trump. An even higher percentage of people — 75 percent — disapprove of Trump’s policies.

According to NBC News, “A record 50 percent say they dislike him personally and dislike his policies, while another 19 percent say that they dislike him but approve of his policies.” A further 25 percent of people like Trump personally but disapprove of his policies.

View the complete September 23 article by Dan Desai Martin on the National Memo website here.