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The post Trump says he’ll take executive action on payroll taxes, unemployment benefits if Dems won’t bargain appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>President Trump said Friday night that he’ll take executive action to extend federal unemployment benefits, defer payroll taxes and other steps if congressional Democratic leaders continue to hold coronavirus relief hostage to their “radical left-wing” demands.
Speaking at a hastily arranged press conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, the president cited the news that employers added 1.8 million jobs in July and said, “We must ensure that the progress continues.”
As he has for the past week, Mr. Trump said he is ready to take executive action to declare a moratorium on evictions in federally backed housing, suspend student loan payments, extend federal unemployment benefits and defer payroll taxes through the end of the year, retroactive to July 1.
“If Democrats continue to hold this critical relief hostage, I will act under my authority as president to get Americans the relief they need,” Mr. Trump said.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said earlier Friday that they would recommend to Mr. Trump that he take those actions, after another day of talks with congressional Democrats failed to produce a deal. But Mr. Trump suggested that the talks might continue before he takes unilateral action.
“My administration continues to work in good faith to reach an agreement with Democrats in Congress,” he said.
The president said he is ready to defer payroll taxes, which the government imposes on up to 15.3% of wages and self-employment income, split between employees and employers.
He also dangled the possibility that it could be extended into the new year, after the November election.
“I can extend it at a certain period. Hopefully, I will be here to do the job,” Mr. Trump said.
His mention of deferring the taxes suggested that workers and employers would be required to repay the taxes to the IRS at some point, although it wasn’t immediately clear.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Friday that the White House refused to meet them halfway between their demand of $3.4 trillion in coronavirus relief and Senate Republicans’ proposal of roughly $1 trillion. Democrats are seeking more than $900 million in aid for states and cities as part of their request.
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]]>The post Trump says he’ll wear mask during upcoming trip to Walter Reed | TheHill appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>President Trump
Donald John TrumpKimberly Guilfoyle reports being asymptomatic and ‘feeling really pretty good’ after COVID-19 diagnosis Biden says he will rejoin WHO on his first day in office Lincoln Project offers list of GOP senators who ‘protect’ Trump in new ad MORE on Thursday said he’ll wear a mask during an upcoming trip to Walter Reed hospital to meet with staff and injured soldiers, which would mark a rare instance he has done so publicly.
“I think it’s fine to wear a mask out if it makes you feel comfortable,” Trump told Sean Hannity
Sean Patrick HannityTrump second-term plans remain a mystery to GOP Does Donald Trump even want a second term? The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Stagwell President Mark Penn says Trump is losing on fighting the virus; Fauci says U.S. ‘going in the wrong direction’ in fight against virus MORE on Fox News, citing “certain conditions” where it would be appropriate, such as visiting a hospital.
“I’m going to Walter Reed to see some of our great soldiers who have been injured. Badly injured. And also see some of our COVID workers, people who have done such a great job,” Trump said. “And I expect to be wearing a mask when I go into Walter Reed. You’re in a hospital so I think it’s a very appropriate thing.”
Trump is expected to visit Walter Reed this weekend. He has yet to wear a face mask publicly even as Republican lawmakers advised that doing so would send a positive message to his supporters about slowing the spread of the virus.
The president was spotted behind the scenes during a tour of a Ford factory last month wearing a mask, but he did not wear one on camera, saying he did not want to give reporters there the satisfaction of seeing him with a face covering.
“I have no problem with a mask. I don’t think you need one when you’re tested all the time, everybody around you is tested, you’re quite a distance,” Trump said Thursday.
He went on to mock presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden
Joe BidenBiden says he will rejoin WHO on his first day in office Tammy Duckworth is the epitome of the American Dream Mexico’s president uses US visit to tout ties with Trump MORE for the deliberate social distancing measures in place at his events in Pennsylvania earlier in the day, and questioned why the former vice president felt the need to wear a mask.
“He walks onto the stage wearing this massive mask,” Trump said. “There’s nobody on the stage … I think it makes him feel good, frankly, if you want to the know the truth. And I guess that’s OK. But when there’s nobody around you don’t really have to do it.”
Public health officials have cited the use of masks as one of the best ways individuals can cut down on the transmission of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 3 million people in the United States. Cases are surging in several states in the South and western parts of the country including Arizona, Texas and Florida.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance in April encouraging Americans to wear masks when social distancing was not possible, noting that it can cut down on the risk of those carrying the virus transmitting it to others.
But the White House has been reluctant to embrace the use of masks. Officials are no longer required to wear them in the West Wing, and Trump and some of his top aides are rarely seen wearing them on camera.
Others, such as Vice President Pence, wear masks more regularly but have been reluctant to explicitly tell Americans to wear them if state guidelines don’t require them.
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]]>The post Trump says he’ll ‘pressure’ states to reopen schools in the fall appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>President Trump said Tuesday that he’ll pressure governors to reopen schools in the fall, warning state leaders against using education to “make political statements” about recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re very much going to put pressure on the governors and everybody else to open the schools,” Mr. Trump said at a White House summit on opening schools safely. “It’s very important for our country, it’s very important for the well-being of the students and the parents.”
The president criticized Harvard University for deciding to allow mainly freshmen to come to campus in the fall, saying the Ivy League school is taking “the easy way out.”
“I think it’s ridiculous,” he said. “That’s not what we want to do. I guess their endowment’s plenty big.”
The president said “everybody” wants children to return to school, after months of school closures due to the COVID-19 crisis that is still surging in many states. Florida on Monday ordered its K-12 schools to reopen in August.
“The moms want it, the dads want it, the kids want it. It’s time to do it,” Mr. Trump said. “We want to get them open quickly, beautifully in the fall. This is a horrible disease, but young people do extraordinarily well.”
First lady Melania Trump said children who’ve been out of school “are missing more than just time in the classroom.”
“They’re missing the laughter of their friends, learning from the teachers and the joy of recess and play,” she said.
The nation’s largest teachers’ union said the administration lacks a credible plan to reopen schools.
“If Donald Trump and [Education Secretary] Betsy DeVos have proven anything over the past four years, it’s that they do not care about students,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia. “They have zero credibility for how to best support students, and how to reopen classrooms safely.”
She said schools and teachers don’t have enough personal protective equipment, and schools can’t socially distance with 40 students in a classroom.
“America must listen to the health experts on when to reopen schools and to educators on how to return to in-person instruction,” she said.
The president said reopening schools “will be up largely to the governors, but they’re in very strong consultation with us.”
There was no dissent among the invited guests at the White House forum on proceeding quickly to reopen schools within the next few weeks.
Brad Weller, a 7th grade science teacher in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, told the president, “We’re ready to go back. It’s time.”
University of Alabama system Chancellor Finis St. John IV said the university system is planning to reopen on Aug. 10. He said the state schools will implement a four-part plan: getting all students tested before they return to campus, deploying a symptom-tracking app for students to use regularly on campus, instituting a contact-tracing program “to manage student outbreaks during the year,” and conducting sample testing throughout the school year.
“Our students are yearning to come back to campus,” Mr. St. John said. “We can reduce risk and manage risk in a way that allows us to go forward.”
Ms. DeVos said educators must “rise to meet the needs of every student.”
“Students can’t afford to fall further behind,” she said. “Even before the virus, too many were trapped in schools that don’t meet their needs. This is the time to reopen schools, to rethink schools, to be more nimble, more agile and more responsive to students’ needs in a 21st-century changing world. This moment demands action, not excuse-making or fear-mongering.”
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]]>The post Trump says he’ll release new list of potential Supreme Court nominees appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>President Trump said Thursday he’ll soon release a new list of conservative potential nominees for the Supreme Court for his second term, a move that he said is “more important than ever” after a string of high-court rulings that have gone against his administration.
“I will be releasing a new list of Conservative Supreme Court Justice nominees, which may include some, or many of those already on the list, by September 1, 2020,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “If given the opportunity, I will only choose from this list, as in the past, a Conservative Supreme Court Justice.”
He added, “Based on decisions being rendered now, this list is more important than ever before (Second Amendment, Right to Life, [Religious] Liberty, etc.) – VOTE 2020!”
In the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump released a list of conservative jurists that he promised to use for his high court nominees if elected. The unusual move was credited with winning over many conservatives.
Among the 21 candidates eventually placed on the list were Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh, who are now both of Mr. Trump’s appointees sitting on the Court.
Although conservatives hold a majority on the nine-member Court, several rulings have gone against the president recently. On Thursday, the high court ruled against the administration’s effort to revoke the Obama-era DACA program for young illegal immigrants.
Mr. Trump said of the recent rulings, “Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?”
“The recent Supreme Court decisions, not only on DACA, Sanctuary Cities, Census, and others, tell you only one thing, we need NEW JUSTICES of the Supreme Court,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “If the Radical Left Democrats assume power, your Second Amendment, Right to Life, Secure Borders, and Religious Liberty, among many other things, are OVER and GONE!”
He said the rulings against his administration should motivate people to vote for him in November.
“These horrible & politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republicans or Conservatives,” Mr. Trump tweeted. ” =We need more Justices or we will lose our 2nd. Amendment & everything else. Vote Trump 2020!”
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]]>The post Trump says he’ll campaign in Montana for Sen. Steve Daines appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>HELENA, Mont. (AP) — President Donald Trump wrote Friday he plans to campaign in Montana in support of Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ reelection bid.
Daines is running against Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in a key battle that could help determine the majority party in the U.S. Senate.
Daines, writing on Twitter, thanked voters for their support in Tuesday’s primary election and added: “Let’s win this in November!”
Trump responded with: “No contest. Steve blows him away. So important for Montana. I’ll be there to help Steve win big!!!”
Daines responded: “Montana can’t wait to have you back, Mr. President!”
No dates have been announced. Montana’s current coronavirus-related directives include a restriction on groups of more than 50 in which social distancing cannot be maintained.
Trump visited Montana four times in 2018 for rallies on behalf of Republican candidates, including Matt Rosendale, in his unsuccessful effort to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. Donald Trump Jr. and Vice President Mike Pence also visited Montana to campaign on behalf of Republican candidates in 2018.
The president acknowledged at his fourth rally that his interest in the Senate race stemmed from anger at Tester, whom he blamed for the withdrawal of his first nominee to head the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, White House physician Ronny Jackson.
Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC.
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]]>The post Trump says he’ll sanction China over Hong Kong, and pulls out of WHO appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>Strongly admonishing the Chinese government, President Trump announced Friday that the United States was “terminating” its relationship with the World Health Organization and threatened to revoke some of Hong Kong’s longtime financial benefits to sanction China for its crackdown on the semiautonomous territory.
Reading from teleprompters in the Rose Garden, Trump blasted China broadly for a “pattern of misconduct.” He reiterated his longstanding accusations that it has fleeced the United States economically, ignored global maritime treaties and caused the coronavirus pandemic — complaints that have become central to his reelection campaign.
“The world is now suffering as a result of the malfeasance of the Chinese government,” Trump declared.
Though the White House had called his appearance a news conference, the president left after delivering the prepared statement without taking questions, which probably would have focused on the national outrage and urban unrest over the killing of African American George Floyd by a white policeman in Minneapolis earlier this week.
Trump sought to build anticipation for his threat to punish Beijing’s increasingly heavy-handed approach to Hong Kong by teasing it earlier in the day with a tweet simply saying “CHINA!” However, his rhetoric against Beijing was stronger than the steps he took or threatened, experts on U.S.-China relations said.
The president suggested that the United States would alter or terminate preferences for Hong Kong on trade, visas, taxes and tariffs — all of which have been contingent on Beijing respecting Hong Kong’s autonomy in the years since it reclaimed the island territory from Britain in 1997. Those preferences are of great value to the government, businesses and investors on mainland China, which otherwise would not benefit from them.
“Hong Kong is no longer sufficiently autonomous to warrant the special treatment we have afforded the territory since the handoff,” Trump said. His administration would “begin the process of eliminating policy exceptions,” he said, without offering any details.
He also threatened to sanction officials deemed to be “smothering” the rights of people in Hong Kong. “China claims it is protecting national security, but the truth is Hong Kong was secure and prosperous as a free society,” Trump said.
Caught between hawkish advisors who wanted tough restrictions on China and moderates more concerned about maintaining trade relations, Trump appeared to stake out a path down the middle.
His open-ended language, while leaving him plenty of room to maneuver, went further than some analysts expected in threatening to curtail Hong Kong’s economic privileges given Trump’s record in foreign policy of giving priority to business transactions and all but ignoring democratic values and human rights.
Yet in stopping short of taking immediate harsh actions, he seemed to accept that those could devastate the enclave and damage hundreds of American-owned businesses there, and also ratchet up tensions with Beijing that could jeopardize the so-called Phase 1 trade deal the U.S. and China recently signed, as well as future trade talks.
Derek Scissors, a China scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said that Trump’s vagueness and absence of any time frame amounted to “nothing” in terms of concrete actions.
“They had steps discussed and didn’t offer a single one, even just as an illustration,” said Scissors, who speaks often with administration officials. “The Hong Kong-related statements just now could have been made in written form a week ago. What have they been doing since?”
David Loevinger, an analyst for TCW Emerging Markets Group in Los Angeles and a former senior Treasury Department official for China affairs, predicted that Beijing’s response would follow suit: “I’m sure they’ll match rhetoric for rhetoric. What are they going to retaliate against? The U.S. didn’t do anything.”
The president did take concrete action in withdrawing the United States from the WHO, an issue that also is enmeshed in anti-China politics. Claiming the WHO did not initiate the reforms he demanded last month, he said U.S. aid currently sent to the organization would be redirected to other “deserving” public health groups.
“China has total control over the World Health Organization despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the United States has been paying, which is approximately $450 million a year,” Trump said. “We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engaged with them directly, but they have refused to act.”
Not only does the move deprive the main international public-health agency of its biggest funding source in the middle of a global pandemic, it effectively bolsters the Chinese influence to which Trump had objected. When he first put the WHO on notice in mid-April, Trump ordered a review of “60 to 90 days.” It was not clear why he acted ahead of the deadline he’d given the organization.
The president’s move got rare criticism from a Senate Republican, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
“Certainly there needs to be a good, hard look at mistakes the World Health Organization might have made in connection with coronavirus, but the time to do that is after the crisis has been dealt with, not in the middle of it,” Alexander said in a statement. He added that the U.S. absence could interfere with global efforts to develop a vaccine and to prevent future viral outbreaks.
Trump’s action aligns with a campaign strategy of presenting himself as tougher on China than the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. He has deflected criticism of his response to the coronavirus, which has now claimed more than 100,000 American lives, by blaming China, where the outbreak began late last year.
Trump again claimed that the WHO was complicit with China in misleading the world about the spread of the coronavirus, though he, too, repeatedly played down the threat early on by citing the reassurances he’d gotten from China’s President Xi Jinping.
With the pandemic and various self-inflicted crises complicating his reelection prospects, Trump is intent on using China as a primary foil to galvanize the nationalist fervor of his supporters that propelled his 2016 campaign.
“He can try and blame China for all of his economic and financial problems with some degree of credibility and say ‘I am the man who sees the problem and can take Beijing on’,” said Harry J. Kazianis, a senior director at the conservative think tank the Center for the National Interest.
“Trump’s goal is to make China his new Hillary Clinton — a foe he can attack day after day to try and make the case of why he should be president. And, so far, China has made the mistake of giving him the talking points and actions to do it.”
U.S. markets dipped Thursday afternoon on the news that Trump was planning a Friday news conference to announce some sort of action against China. After his remarks, Wall Street rallied somewhat.
“Investors are relieved the measures are not as bad as some were expecting,” said Bill Bishop, author of a daily newsletter for China watchers. “The language the president used appears to leave some wiggle room for timing and implementation.”
At the United Nations, the United States tried for two days — so far unsuccessfully — to push a declaration in the Security Council condemning China’s actions in Hong Kong. As a member of the council, China can veto any such action.
Trump’s ambassador to the U.N., Kelly Craft, said Friday, “Today I asked the council one simple question: Are we going to take the honorable stand to defend the human rights and the dignified way of life that millions of Hong Kong citizens have enjoyed and deserve like all freedom-loving people, or are we going to allow the Chinese Communist Party to violate international law and force its will on the people of Hong Kong, who look to us to preserve their way of life and their freedoms?”
Times staff writer Don Lee contributed to this report.
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]]>The post Trump says he’ll ask Harvard to return coronavirus relief money appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
President Trump accused Harvard University of “taking” money from the federal government as part of the Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act, intended to benefit small businesses and said he will be asking that they pay it back.
“Harvard is going to pay back the money. They shouldn’t be taking it,” Trump said Tuesday, taking aim at the university as the White House came under scrutiny after a number of large businesses received money from the $350 billion relief fund, leaving small businesses out as the coffers ran dry last week.
SENATE PASSES $484B ‘PHASE 3.5’ CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS PACKAGE BY VOICE VOTE AMID TENSIONS IN CHAMBER
“I’m not going to mention any other names, but when I saw Harvard — they have one of the largest endowments anywhere in the country, maybe in the world. They’re going to pay back the money,” he added.
Harvard University denied applying for loans intended for small businesses straining under the coronavirus pandemic and said it received funds as part of a separate fund under the CARES Act for academic institutions.
“Like most colleges and universities, Harvard has been allocated funds as part of the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund,” the university said in a statement, adding that 100 percent of the money will be used to provide direct assistance to students facing urgent financial needs due to COVID-19.
The school also stressed that the financial assistance provided by the government is on top of support the university has already provided to students.
In an effort to meet the demands for funds for small businesses, the Senate passed a bill Tuesday to replenish the PPP fund with $310 billion, along with additional funding for hospitals, coronavirus testing, and more.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the next go-around of loans will be offered to the more than 1 million companies with fewer than 10 workers and said their would be additional guidance in the coming days on who specifically would qualify.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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]]>The post Trump says he’ll ‘suspend migration’ amidst coronavirus appeared first on Virus Reports.
]]>President Trump stated Monday that he will sign an executive order “to momentarily suspend migration into the United States” since of the coronavirus.
He used no information as to what immigration programs might be affected by the order.
Trump has actually taken credit for his restrictions on travel to the U.S. from China and hard-hit European countries, arguing they contributed to slowing the spread of the virus in the U.S.
Due to the pandemic, almost all visa processing by the State Department, including immigrant visas, has actually been suspended for weeks.
More than 750,000 Americans have actually come down with COVID-19 and more than 42,000 have passed away.
Because of the attack from the Undetectable Enemy, along with the requirement to protect the jobs of our FANTASTIC American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend migration into the United States!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2020
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]]>The post Trump Says He’ll ‘Temporarily Suspend Immigration’ Over Coronavirus Fears appeared first on Virus Reports.
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Updated at 9: 42 a.m. ET
President Trump, in a late-night tweet Monday, said he “will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” to protect against the coronavirus and its economic toll.
In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2020
Details of the president’s plan, including to whom it would apply, how long it would last and when it would go into effect, were unclear as of Tuesday morning.
Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, said in a statement that the president “is committed to protecting the health and economic well-being of American citizens as we face unprecedented times.”
“As President Trump has said, ‘Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African-American and Latino workers,’ ” she said. “At a time when Americans are looking to get back to work, action is necessary.”
The move would be the broadest expansion of restrictions imposed in the U.S. since the outbreak of the pandemic earlier this year.
Trump previously banned most travel from China, where the coronavirus emerged, and from more than two dozen European nations, where it spread seemingly unhindered. He also closed the borders with Canada and Mexico for most nonessential travel. The pandemic has sharply reduced travel worldwide.
Trump campaigned and partly won the presidency on a pledge to reduce illegal immigration, and the number of people crossing the Southern border illegally has dropped since he took office. He has also slashed the U.S. refugee resettlement program and cracked down on asylum-seekers. His administration has tried to move the U.S. toward a points-based immigration system, such as those used in Canada and Australia.
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, had been quietly trying to resurrect discussions to overhaul the U.S. immigration system. Earlier this year, Kushner met with business leaders, immigration hard-liners and other interest groups with the goal of rolling out a new immigration plan once the president’s impeachment trial ended. The status of those talks is unclear; they were conducted against the backdrop of a booming economy, which needed workers to fill critical job openings.
But the pandemic has essentially erased the 22 million jobs created over the past decade, perhaps changing the prospects of an attempt to overhaul of the immigration system.
Earlier Monday, a federal judge in California ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to “identify and track” every person in ICE detention at an elevated risk of complications from COVID-19 and to consider releasing those detainees, regardless of their legal status.
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