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I asked this question a few days ago, and I’ll take a shot at answering it. Trump came into office saying he would appoint THE BEST PEOPLE. What we have seen instead is incompetence, turmoil, serial turnovers, numerous corruption scandals and many crucial government positions left unfilled. We have lots of “acting” heads of this or that, but looking at the people who have actually been confirmed is a good way to gauge the depth of the cynicism and the contempt that Trump and Republicans feel for the United States of America.A lot of the inadequate staffing is inevitable. Smart, thoughtful, qualified people tend to believe in the fact-based universe. Donald Trump is a narcissistic sociopath who lies all the time, ignores intelligence and informed opinions, governs via tweets and uses public office to enrich himself — so, quality people in every field are going to think twice about going to work for someone that rude and insulting, that dishonest and that likely to stain and compromise, forever, the reputations of those who serve in his administration.But a lot of the incompetence of the administration is deliberate — intentional. Just as fewer and fewer Republicans believe in American democracy (it’s “mob rule!” they insist), fewer and fewer of them believe in government, in the traditional sense. They prefer the Russian model of oligarchs running a gangster state. They see the entire Federal government as some kind of commie plot. They sneer at public service, and consider people who devote their lives to it, serving both Democratic and Republican administrations in a nonpartisan, dedicated way, to be suspect. They refer to these people who keep government running, and maintain continuity in our agencies over time, as the Deep State. Career civil servants have, indeed, kept things functioning even with Kaos Agent Trump in charge, for over two years … but every month there are fewer of them, as they leave our government in droves, pushed out by this administration. They are replaced by — a vacuum. And that will be a very bad thing if Trump’s threatened trade wars crash the economy, or if his efforts to generate high ratings for himself by threatening wars and then making friendly gestures results in a real war. In a time of national emergency, there may well be no grown-ups left in the room.Besides hating good government in general, Republicans feel special enmity for those who insist science is real. They humiliate and harass top scientists, transferring them around, forbidding people in government to publish real science papers, discouraging them from using terms like “science-based” and “evidence-based,” delaying and burying government reports and research with conclusions that contradict the administration’s lies, and barring people from attending international conferences where established, proven concepts like harmful man-made climate change are discussed.Since this administration’s assault on the reality-based universe is focused on science, it’s no surprise Trump put Scott Pruitt in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt was saturated in fossil fuel money, (he’s a Koch brothers pet), hates the EPA, had sued it fourteen times — so, he was a natural to run it, since Republicans like to have a fox running every government hen house.In a little over a year, there were fourteen investigations by different government agencies into Pruitt’s corrupt/illegal practices. He gave illegal raises to cronies. He had an obsession with secrecy and lack of transparency, liberally spending money on items like his Get Smart-type “cone of silence” booth. He told his security people in cars to use flashing lights and sirens, regularly, to get him through DC traffic to places like his favorite restaurant. He had a mania for hiring extra security people. He had security people pick up his dry cleaning, and go out to look for his special moisturizer. He slavishly worked to empower the industries the EPA keeps tabs on and is supposed to impose fines on, for violations. He fired scientists and replaced them with fossil fuel industry people. He used taxpayer money to fly everywhere first class or business class or on private jets and stay at luxury hotels, costing us hundreds of thousands. He set up a sweetheart rental deal for himself and his daughter in a DC lobbyist’s condo.Pruitt’s level of corruption was breathtaking, even for the Trump administration, and he was pressured to resign in 2018. Now we have former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler continuing Pruitt’s job of running/dismantling the EPA. It probably goes without saying, but Wheeler does not believe science is real, either. A lot of Trump’s people are so incompetent and so focused on self-enrichment, it limits the damage they do, but Wheeler is a busy boy; he is better than Pruitt at changing Obama-era policy and perverting the mission of the EPA, so that not only does more carbon spew into our atmosphere, but also more methane, plus mercury and other things that sicken and kill a lot of Americans. Here are some pieces on him and on what our EPA has been up to:Opinion | This Coal Lobbyist Should Not Run the E.P.A.E.P.A. Rule Change Could Let Dirtiest Coal Plants Keep Running (and Stay Dirty)Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier to Release Methane Into AirPresident Trump’s Retreat on the Environment Is Affecting Communities Across AmericaTrump Administration Hardens Its Attack on Climate ScienceAnother notable Trump administration Swamp Dweller was Tom Price, whom Trump made our Secretary of Health and Human Services (and of course Republicans in the Senate confirm Trump’s stinking nominees of this kind). He’s a Tea Party guy, so naturally, as a doctor, he worked on a healthcare plan as an alternative to the ACA that would cover far fewer people and give them shoddier coverage. He doesn’t think it’s important that parents vaccinate their children. He not only opposes abortion, he has claimed no woman has ever struggled to pay for basic contraception. He made stock market decisions affected by policy he was involved in. As head of HHS, he fought for repeal of the individual mandate: “repeal” with no “replace,” of course — though Republicans pretended as they took power that they had a health plan of their own.Price pretended getting rid of the individual mandate wouldn’t result in millions of people losing coverage. Like Pruitt, Price had a penchant for private chartered planes, and he also liked to take military flights — to get to cities that are easily accessible from DC by car or train. He cost tax payers one million with this nonsense, and offered to pay back $50,000. Eventually, he had to resign. Now, our HHS Secretary is Alex Azar, a former head of Eli Lilly and a pharmaceutical industry lobbyist. He is, naturally, also focused on repealing the ACA with no “replace.”Betsy DeVos is married to the heir of the incredibly lucrative, Christian Fundamentalist pyramid-scheme company Amway. She has spent years promoting school vouchers and charter schools and undermining the American system of public education. Her efforts have had a dismal effect on the schools of Michigan; the charter school program she championed there is a disaster. So, naturally, she is now our Secretary of Education. She has no degree in the subject. Her Senate confirmation hearings were eye-opening, as she read quotes plagiarized from Obama administration people, expressed bewilderment over some basic rubrics for measuring how students and schools are doing, and said people might need guns in schools to fight off grizzly bears.Even Republican Senators had trouble voting for her, and Mike Pence had to step in and break the tie. DeVos seems to think that historically black colleges are examples of “school choice” — not understanding what caused them to be founded. She has suggested it’s okay for private schools to refuse to accept LGBT kids or black kids — since it’s all about “choice.” She has worked to take away protection for students who take out loans, and standards to protect students from gimmicky for-profit colleges. She appointed a former dean of DeVry to supervise investigations into scam colleges like DeVry. She does her best to cut funding for the Special Olympics and for programs for kids with disabilities — she has sabotaged their rights that were protected under law.Rick Perry was a governor of Texas who wanted to be president. He memorably ran a campaign ad talking about how it was wrong that President Obama was preventing children from celebrating Christmas (?!) and wrong that gays could serve openly in the military, and how Perry wanted to bring America back to Christian values, and end the “war on religion.” Ironically, the background music of this ad ripped off Appalachian Spring, by gay Jewish New York communist atheist composer Aaron Copland, whose parents were immigrants to Brooklyn:Also when he was running for president in 2011/2012, Perry said in a debate that the US should eliminate three government departments. He mentioned the Department of Education, the Department of Commerce, and as for the third one? "I can't. The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops.” The department he wanted to eliminate but was too dumb to remember the name of later turned out to be the Department of Energy. So, in a nice little joke on America — a way to give the finger to us all — Trump and the Republicans have made Rick Perry our nation’s Secretary of Energy, leading that department! Energy has to do with science, so from the GOP perspective it’s great that Perry is a Fundamentalist who doesn’t think science is real, and would like to see Creationism taught in schools. Perry pooh poohs concerns about climate change. He says “the science is still out” on whether people cause it. He says African countries should use fossil fuels to create better lighting; it would lead to fewer rapes. He goes after the Sierra Club for "exploiting the struggle of those most affected by climate change." He remains on the board of a huge energy company. (Holy conflict of interest, Batman!) He may be leaving soon, to find ways to make more money.Rick Perry Is Done Pretending to Know What the Energy Department DoesWilbur Ross is our Secretary of Commerce. He’s a big believer in Trump’s trade wars; he thinks tariffs on China will modify their behavior, instead of causing them to buy soybeans elsewhere, screwing American farmers. Ross also is a fan of trade wars with Europe. Ross lied to the Department of Ethics, in writing, and said he had divested all of his financial holdings. For most of 2017 he owned stakes in companies that were in China, tied to Putin’s son-in-law and involved in other areas it was now his job to regulate. He has diddled with stocks and engaged in insider trading while in office. He met with Chevron execs to discuss oil and gas in 2018 while his wife owned $250,000 in Chevron stocks. When Trump threw a tantrum and shut down our government over his wall (“I own the shutdown! Except I don’t! Except I do! Except I don’t!”) Ross suggested that Federal workers who were in crisis because they were not receiving paychecks should just go take out loans from the bank, and pay a little interest later. He couldn’t understand why they were going to food banks.Ross and Trump recently had a big defeat; they can’t include a question on the census about citizenship that was designed to intimidate Latino citizens who have loved ones who are undocumented — it was intended to keep those citizens from responding, so the places where they live won’t receive adequate Federal funding, for healthcare and roads and education, in terms of how many people live there. Roberts’ conservative Supreme Court is fine with Republican gerrymandering, which distorts our democracy — but they found Ross’s lying as he made the case about the census so lame and so blatant, they just couldn’t sign off on it.Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen left her job recently. She will not be missed. Her lies for Trump extend way beyond pretending not to know whether Norway is a predominantly white country. (Trump had said in a meeting that we get too many immigrants from sh*thole countries — why can’t we have more from places like Norway?) She pretended not to know, in May of 2018, that the intelligence community had concluded that the Russians interfered in the 2016 elections to help Trump win. (This is our Secretary of Homeland Security talking.) Months later, she said she didn’t think Russia had been trying to help either side — after Putin had said he’d wanted Trump to win. Nielsen was the one who started implementing Trump’s policy of family separation in 2018 — and she lied about it, again and again, sometimes under oath to Congress. She said they had no such policy when they had already separated 2,000 children from their families, and Jeff Sessions and others were bragging about the innovative approach. She said Trump could not sign an executive order ending family separations, then was at the ceremony where he signed the meaningless order he had no intention of respecting. Nielsen expressed to Congress that she did not know how many children and how many people apprehended at the border had died in custody during her tenure.There is now even more incoherence and chaos in the DHS. The current Acting Secretary has appointed Mark Morgan to run Customs and Border Protection. According to the New York Times, Morgan won over Trump on TV in 2017. “In one appearance on Fox News, Mr. Morgan said that when he looked into the eyes of detained migrant children, he saw a ‘soon-to-be MS-13 gang member.’” Now, there’s the guy to turn around the problem of children dying and being traumatized in custody, and our national honor being stained by inhumane abuses!‘A Constant Game of Musical Chairs’ Amid Another Homeland Security Shake-UpIn another Times piece, by Gail Collins in January about this stinking, putrid cabinet, we learn that: “Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, who once advocated an end to birthright citizenship and policies that would require employees to speak English, was picked last month to oversee United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency responsible for legal immigration.”Opinion | Help Pick the Worst of TrumpJeff Sessions was Trump’s Attorney General until the 2018 elections. Sessions is a good-old-boy racist who lost the chance to be a Federal judge in 1986 due to a letter from Coretta Scott King calling him out for his racist behavior as an attorney in Alabama. Senator Elizabeth Warren cited what Ted Kennedy had said about that earlier nomination, and started to read Coretta Scott King’s letter, which had been read into the Congressional record in 1986. Republicans objected, “nevertheless, she persisted,” and McConnell and Republicans shut Warren down — they voted to silence her. Jeff Sessions perjured himself before the Senate during his confirmation hearings, saying he’d never talked to the Russians during the campaign and didn’t know of anyone else in the Trump campaign who had. Once this lie was exposed, he had to come back to the Senate to do some ‘splaining, talking about his honor as a Southern gentleman or some such, and wound up recusing himself from supervising the Mueller Investigation. Trump never forgave him for it, and Trump liked to publicly humiliate him, regularly.Sessions hung on because being AG allowed him to pursue policies dear to his heart — policies otherwise in tune with the Trump administration. He was the one who proudly unveiled the policy of hurting refugee children on purpose, to punish and deter their parents who brought them here, seeking asylum! There was a good deal of bi-partisan consensus that we need criminal justice reform, that people shouldn’t go to jail for decades for marijuana charges when pot is legal in many states, and that people who are addicted need treatment rather than to be treated like criminals. But Sessions did away with all those ideas. He’s against even medical marijuana. He was proud that we’re the most incarcerated country, he was into mandatory sentencing rules and against consent decrees for police departments found to be chronically racist. He was into cops seizing property from people who were suspected but not convicted, and fining the poor to the max. Our Attorney General seemed not to see Hawaii as a real state, saying, of Trump’s proposed racist Muslim Ban, that he was "amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and Constitutional power," though the Supreme Court, it turned out, had issues with the original version of the Travel Ban also.Trump has said he wants an Attorney General who will be his “Roy Cohn.” Roy Cohn broke the law, talking privately to the judge and getting the death sentence for both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who died in the electric chair. He was the right-hand man of Senator Joe McCarthy who called everyone who opposed him a communist; though gay himself, Cohn helped enhance the Lavender Scare. Cohn threatened to “wreck the Army” if they didn’t give his friend David Schine cushy treatment once he was drafted, which led to the Army-McCarthy hearings and Joseph Welch standing up to McCarthy: "Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" Later as a lawyer in NYC, Cohn represented Mafiosos like John Gotti, and Donald Trump, and the guys who ran Studio 54, and he and they were part of that Studio 54 partying scene. Cohn represented Trump when the government went after him and his father for their racist rental policies — not showing apartments to black applicants, marking black people’s applications with a “C” for “Colored,” etc. Cohn got Trump off. He introduced Trump to Rupert Murdoch. As Cohn was with the young rat-f*cker and self-described dirty trickster Roger Stone, Roy Cohn was key in teaching Donald Trump to have no morals whatsoever.How Donald Trump and Roy Cohn’s Ruthless Symbiosis Changed AmericaSessions obeyed the laws sometimes, and was capable of feeling shame, and so, even though he advanced the racist agenda of Trump, Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon, Trump became disgusted with him. Trump got rid of Sessions and brought in Scott Whitaker as acting Attorney General — a guy who’d auditioned for the job by writing an op ed piece saying Mueller’s investigation into Trump was going too far, and retweeted a piece calling the investigation a “lynch mob.” Whitaker had run a shady, opaque group that pretended to be non-partisan with the Orwellian acronym name FACT that urged investigations of Hillary Clinton. He’d also been involved with a group supposedly promoting inventions — a group that rivals Trump University and Trump Model Management for the rancidness of its sleazy, dishonest practices. It created a false impression that some inventions it promoted were successful. Whitaker threatened people who were out to expose the company. It sold deep, “masculine toilets” to manly men with penises so long, they’d land in the water in a toilet bowl of the normal height, and it claimed to have Bigfoot’s DNA, or proof that it had been collected.So many people had a problem with the endlessly acting, never confirmed Whitaker, that Trump brought in William Barr to be our AG. And now, at last, the Donald has his Roy Cohn! He has, in Barr, both a Mafia Don’s lawyer and a consigliere to him. Barr is a longtime proponent of mass incarceration, ending parole, new laws to monitor people’s phone records without getting proper vetting of these laws — and he helped orchestrate George Herbert Walker Bush pardoning a bunch of Bush’s Iran/Contra co-conspirators. Like Whitaker, Barr auditioned for the job of AG, letting Trump know he’d get him off in relation to Mueller in 2017 by saying it was fine for Trump to fire Sally Yates, there’s more point to investigating Hillary and Uranium One than there is to investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections, and the Mueller Investigation into obstruction of justice was “asinine”; it was looking like a plot “to overthrow the president.” Barr lied about the contents of the Mueller Report months before releasing it, lied under oath to Congress about whether Mueller had communicated to him what Mueller thought of Barr’s representation of the report … and Barr is fine with using the word “spying” for those in our intelligence community who, after presenting evidence to FISA judges, conducted authorized investigations of what happened between Trump and Russia in 2016. He says the term “spying” isn’t pejorative. Senator Kamala Harris made mincemeat of Barr for his squishy, dishonest testimony in the Senate:After that, Barr blew off a subpoena to testify before the House Oversight Committee, and they held him in Contempt of Congress.It’s not good for the United States to have an Attorney General who is a liar, a perjurer, a man with contempt for firewalls, and contempt for the Separation of Powers and the system of Checks and Balances, and who forgets that he is America’s lawyer, not the president’s. But that’s Bill Barr.Alexander Acosta is our Secretary of Labor. He is in the news right now for the sweetheart deal he gave child predator Jeffrey Epstein back in Florida. The prosecution lawyers met with Epstein’s lawyers in the spirit of good ol’ boy camaraderie, and cut a deal where he only got a slap on the wrist; for thirteen months, Epstein had to sleep in a Federal facility but he could go work in his office six days a week … We’re talking about a man who molested multiple children, and trafficked in children. But then, rich white men in this country are above the law. The deal also protected his co-conspirators, known and unknown from prosecution. Of course, President Trump has been accused of having sex with a little girl at one of Epstein’s parties, (there is a corroborating witness, a woman who said she recruited the child to come to the party and witnessed the rape) and has joked about how Jeff is a great guy, they both like beautiful women, Jeff likes them really young …Alex Acosta saw to it that important information was withheld from the judge in the case — and crucial information was also illegally withheld from the many young women who had been abused as children by Epstein. They did not even know the deal had been cut. They never had a chance to appear at his sentencing hearing and say what they thought of Epstein’s light sentencing for a charge of “prostitution.” At last, Epstein (along with, possibly, his co-conspirators) is being prosecuted properly, by New York and Federal authorities. July 12th Update: Alex Acosta is gone. Yay!Ben Carson is a doctor, a neurosurgeon, a man with some impressive credits and also some very odd comments and actions on his scorecard, a sometime presidential candidate … and he had no experience, over the course of his career, in managing a big agency or dealing directly with policies involving housing and urban development. So, why did Trump choose Carson to run HUD? Was it that our president saw the word “urban” and thought … oh, urban … I better give it to the black guy …? With Donald Trump, who knows? It’s also possible that Trump liked how Carson had opposed HUD’s long-term anti-discrimination policies. Another fox to run another hen house! Carson seemed open, during his confirmation, to steering government money to Trump’s businesses. His son, Ben Carson Jr, has been cashing in on his father’s position. The Trump administration keeps eliminating HUD money that Dr. Carson promises the public will be part of infrastructure spending. In his testimony before Congress over the last few years, Dr. Carson has repeatedly made it evident that he doesn’t understand basic things HUD does. Here he is in 2019:He said after this hearing that Democrats were using “Saul Alinsky” tactics.Carson fired a career HUD official for refusing to spend more than $5,000, the legal limit, on new office furnishings for him. He went on to spend $31,000 of tax-payer dollars on a new dining set. He lied about whether he’d had input in choosing it.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the brain child of Elizabeth Warren. It was authorized by Dodd-Frank and it was meant to protect average people against predatory lenders and others who had screwed us and had led to the 2008 crash. Richard Cordray, a Warren ally, ran it well, He appointed a person who should have taken it over when he left — but Trump trashed the protocol and put in Mick Mulvaney to run it. Mulvaney is supposedly fiscally cautious, but running the Office of Management and Budget, he was fine with Trump dramatically swelling the deficit with tax cuts for the rich. Now he says “nobody cares” about the deficit. Mulvaney told Trump to cut Social Security and Medicare. He introduced himself to Gary Cohn saying: “Hi, I’m a right-wing nutjob.” He got confirmed at OMB despite the fact that he failed to pay payroll taxes for years on his kids’ nanny. As a Congressman, Mulvaney attacked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau non-stop, calling it “sick” and “sad” and “a joke.” He co-sponsored legislation to get rid of it. So, of course, he was the perfect guy to run it for Trump! By 2019 he had undermined its enforcement and regulatory powers. It lets banks and businesses get away with screwing consumers once again, no problem! It has dropped investigations of predatory payday lenders. A leading business group praised Mulvaney for his “passivity.” But he fired all 25 members of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board after eleven of them criticized him — he wasn’t passive about that! Now Mulvaney is Trump’s Chief of Staff.Donald Trump spent the 2016 campaign bellowing about how he was going to “Drain the Swamp!” He cheerfully admitted he’d been handed that slogan, he thought it was stupid and meaningless, but crowds loved it so he kept yelling it. He criticized Hillary Clinton for being too close to Goldman Sachs — and then brought Gary Cohn and Steve Mnuchin into his administration. Let’s talk about Mnuchin. He is our Secretary of the Treasury. He says his number one priority is dismantling parts of Dodd-Frank. When asked about the threat of AI taking jobs away from people, he says oh, don’t worry, that’s 50 or 100 years off. Mnuchin had a “Mnuchin Rule,” saying they wouldn’t give the rich a big tax break. He walked it back. He said Trump’s tax cut for the rich would finance itself. Budget deficits rose 17% by the next year. Mnuchin had not ordered the Treasury to do any analysis of the proposed huge tax cuts and their impact. The Treasury ultimately issued a one-page document acknowledging that the tax cuts would not pay for themselves. Mnuchin has ignored Congress’s subpoena of Trump’s tax records, saying they didn’t want them for legitimate reasons, even though the law clearly states that the Secretary of the Treasury “shall furnish” requested tax records of any individual to Congress. What are laws worth, after all? He can be remarkably rude when talking to Congress, especially when speaking to House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters.He told parents to take their kids to the Lego Batman Movie he executive produced, right after acknowledging, in the same interview, it was unethical for him to promote things he’s involved in. Mnuchin is another Swamp Dweller who loves him some plane rides: government planes, military planes … he reimbursed us for his wife’s part in one plane jaunt, nearly $600, in a trip that cost tax payers nearly $27,000. He wanted a military jet for their honeymoon, but later said: "I'm very sensitive to the use of government funds. I've never asked the government to pay for my personal travel ... The story was quite misreported.”Eleanor Chao likes to ride some of the same planes as Mnuchin. When she was George H.W. Bush’s Secretary of Labor, she was famous for sticking it to the American workers whose rights she was supposed to uphold, and siding with those who exploit them. She did not defend laws protecting wages and hours and workplace safety. She was fine with people being underpaid, and with mines that ignored safety rules — which led to a number of miners’ deaths. Chao is now our Secretary of Transportation. She labels a lot of her time on the job “private,” avoiding transparency in terms of what she does with it. But she does lots of public interviews, as Secretary of Transportation, with her father, a shipping tycoon with ships that go to China. Her sister now runs the family business. The company gets lots of very unusual deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars in China; Chao is using her position to help her family’s business cash in, as the Trumps do. Chao pledged in 2017 to sell her stock in a road-paving company, but she lied; only when newspapers exposed her lie in 2019 did she sell the stock. Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — the man who delights in undermining our Constitution by not letting President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee get considered by the Senate as the Constitution stipulates, etc. In 2017, Chao had her aide Todd Inman become a special envoy between the Department of Transportation and Kentucky, the state McConnell represents in the Senate. This led to $78 million in sweetheart deal projects for pro-McConnell counties in Kentucky. (No conflict of interest there!) Inman had worked for McConnell’s campaigns in the past. Now he’s Chao’s Chief of Staff. Chao’s father and family have given millions to McConnell and his campaigns.Mike Flynn was President Trump’s National Security Adviser for several weeks when Trump first came into office. Before that, Flynn had an Army career: a Lieutenant General. He led our Defense Intelligence Agency for a while under Obama. He was forced out, perhaps because his close relations with a Russian woman made him seem potentially compromised, or because of his apoplectic views about Muslims, or his nutty management style, abusive treatment of staff, and truth-challenged pronouncements that caused his staff to talk about “Flynn facts.” He retired from the military soon after. He became a consultant, and got $45,000 for a speech at an RT dinner in Russia where he was seated next to Putin. He criticized Erdogan in Turkey during the attempted coup there. But then he went to work for the Turkish government. He wrote an op ed attacking Erdogan’s opponent, Gulen, without disclosing that he worked for a Turkish company. In March 2017 he registered as a foreign agent who had received over $500,000 in lobbying money. But that was after the election — and after he had left the Trump White House.During the 2016 campaign Flynn was an adviser to Trump. He gave a keynote speech at the Republican National Convention, attacking Hillary Clinton and leading/encouraging the chants of “Lock her up!” He said if he’d done a tenth of what she’d done, he’d be in jail. He re-tweeted Pizza-gate garbage. President Obama when he met Trump after the election warned him not to hire Flynn to hear sensitive national security information. Trump ignored it. Chris Christie also warned Trump not to hire Flynn. Flynn himself told people he was under investigation. Before Jeff Sessions was confirmed, Sally Yates was Acting Attorney General. She warned Trump that Flynn should not be his National Security Adviser anymore because there was proof Flynn had lied to Pence and others when he said his phone call to Sergei Kislyak before Trump took office was just to wish Kislyak Merry Christmas. In fact, Flynn told Kislyak that Russia should ignore the sanctions imposed on Russia by Obama, who was still president, because Trump would come in and repeal them — did this in violation of the Logan Act, which says a private citizen should not negotiate with foreign powers in US government disputes. Because Flynn had lied about the call, he was compromised — the Russians could blackmail him. Trump ignored Yates’ warning and kept Flynn around hearing highly classified intelligence for two more weeks. Trump fired Yates. Flynn had to resign when his lie became publicly known. Trump leaned on FBI Director James Comey to “let Flynn go,” and when Comey would not pledge that the FBI would not investigate Flynn and Trump, Trump fired Comey over “the Russia thing,” as he told Lester Holt in an interview on national television and told the Russians in the Oval Office the next day. This led to the Mueller Investigation.Mueller went after Flynn (and his son) for, among other things, plotting to kidnap Gulen, the enemy of Erdogan in Turkey; Gulen lives here. Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI, but got into trouble because he kept on lying when he said he was cooperating. The Trump administration improperly contacted him to try to learn what he was saying, and dangled indirect offers of a pardon. Michael Flynn was one of 34 people indicted in the course of the Mueller Investigation, which according to Republicans has uncovered nothing.Mueller's investigation is done. Here are the 34 people he indicted along the wayOther criminal people from the Trump campaign and administration exposed by the investigation include Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen who illegally paid off women Trump slept with during the campaign and is now in jail (court papers call Trump aka “Individual One” Cohen’s un-indicted co-conspirator) and fellow Roy Cohn protege and campaign adviser Roger Stone who is also in jail, for lying to Congress and witness tampering. Former Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort took the Trump Tower meeting with Jared and Don Jr to get dirt from the Russians on Hillary Clinton. (An invitation to collude with the Russians? “I love it!”) Manafort had groomed Russia’s stooge leader in Ukraine before grooming one here, and gave the Russians the Trump campaign’s internal polling data. (No, collusion, though, right?) Manafort had a plea deal he violated, continuing to lie to investigators and to coordinate with the Trump team. Now he’s in jail, for tax fraud and bank fraud. He’s another foreign lobbyist who registered as one a little “late.”George Papadopoulos was a Trump campaign aide who only served fourteen days in prison for lying to the FBI. He bragged to an Australian diplomat in 2016 about how the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians, which helped lead to the FBI investigation into the matter. He also offered more substantiation that Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ lied to Congress. Attorney Alex Van Der Swann only served thirty days in jail for lying. Rick Gates, like Michael Flynn, has had his sentencing delayed, as he continues to cooperate and provide more dirt. Richard Pinedo served six months for identity fraud. He helped the Russian cyber trolls get onto Facebook and influence the election. The other people indicted are Konstantin Kilimnik, whom Manafort gave the polling data to, and a bunch of other Russians.Compare that nest of crooks to Bill Clinton’s campaigns and administration. Compare it to the Obama campaigns and administration.Here’s one more Trump Swamp creature, one very close to the Swamp Lord — Jared Kushner! His father is a sleazy real estate developer. Because his father’s brother-in-law was cooperating with Feds against him, Jared’s dad hired a prostitute, had her go sleep with his brother-in-law and taped the encounter to send to his sister. He went to jail for that witness tampering, plus illegal campaign contributions, plus tax evasion. Jared came away from the experience furious on his father’s behalf — and made sure Chris Christie, who negotiated his father’s plea agreement, did not serve in Trump’s administration. He was indignant that his father didn’t get out of prison early, and he has no sense that what his father did was wrong. In other words, Jared Kushner, like his father-in-law Donald Trump, is a princeling con man raised to break the law without batting an eye. Jared’s father’s donations to Harvard may have helped Jared get in. The two of them made the disastrous $1.8 billion purchase of 666 Fifth Avenue just before the 2008 crash. Jared worked closely with Manafort during Trump’s campaign on media strategy, and together they hired Steve Bannon’s Cambridge Analytica. Once Trump was elected, Jared lied multiple times on his security clearance forms, omitting hundreds of meetings with foreign nationals. He’d re-submit them and lie again. (To lie intentionally even once on those forms is a felony that can lead to jail time.) A person as compromised as Jared would never be granted clearance to hear sensitive intelligence — except Trump over-rode all the professionals and got him clearance anyhow. Trump said he had no role in getting Jared clearance, but then, Trump lies all the time.So, what is Jared Kushner in charge of ? What isn’t he in charge of! He’s been in charge of peace between Palestine and Israel; apparently his plan is stuff seen many times before, and a non-starter. He’s in charge of solving the opioid crisis (how’s that going?) and information-technology contracting. He was heavily involved in us selling weapons to Saudi Arabia for $100 billion. All government correspondence is supposed to be over official systems (do you remember Hillary getting criticized for using private email for government work? Guess what Jared has used?) and there is supposed to be a record kept of it, for history. (Again, do you remember Hillary getting in trouble because people thought some of her official emails might not have been saved? It was for the historical record.) Jared communicates with MBS of Saudi Arabia via encrypted apps with no record. He tipped off MBS about guys in Saudi Arabia who might be a threat to MBS, and they were rounded up and taken to a hotel. They’re not a threat to Adnan Khashoggi’s murderer anymore. Jared owes a billion dollars in debt. Our nation’s foreign policy of punishing our ally Qatar, and our policy toward Saudi Arabia, seem at least partially to have been geared over the last two years toward finally getting someone to pay for the 666 Fifth Avenue boondoggle that Jared is still saddled with.During the campaign, Jared also had calls with Kislyak, and of course went to the Trump Tower meeting, and may have leaned on Flynn to talk to people in the Middle East to undermine Obama’s policies after Trump was elected but Obama was still in office. He may have told Flynn to talk to Kislyak. Jared was very keen on getting Comey fired — he figured Democrats would be great with it because Comey had violated the Hatch Act several times to make Hillary look bad. But, it turned out Democrats had a problem with Trump firing him for the reasons he did. Jared and Ivanka cash in on their position in various obvious and offensive ways, and their conflicts of interest are pretty straightforward.That’s not the whole Rogues’ Gallery, but it’s an intro to a lot of the key ones. I feel like we should be aware of them. Their faces should haunt our nightmares. I’m sorry it took so long — sorry there was so much to write about. But no, none of those Trump appointees is focused on making the agencies and departments they run, and the US government overall, succeed. These are not THE BEST PEOPLE. These are THE WORST PEOPLE. Either they actively seek to destroy the organizations they head, or they are primarily focused on making a buck. Yes, that’s often true when Republicans are in office. But Trump likes to talk about how the things he does are unbelievable, amazing, nobody’s ever seen anything like it before — and in this case, the hyperbole is justified. The graft of these grifters, the idiocy of some of the drivel that comes out of their mouths, the slimy, wormy filth that they have reduced our government to … is simply unprecedented. Trump has not drained The Swamp. Trump is The Swamp Lord. Trump has widened and deepened The Swamp, and added extra scum. Again, we’ve been relatively lucky so far, as we were during the first eight months under W. But luck can run out, and things can go seriously wrong. We could get in a situation where we need statesmen, not con men, and wisdom, not smug, self-satisfied ignorance. And even if no seismic national emergency arises, the policies that do not seem to have done too much damage yet will continue to hurt us (and the whole planet) for a long, long time to come.

Wonderment at quality of life but bewildering language and norms.Probably it is easier to move east to west (Frenchman to NY), then west to east (American to Paris).They key difference is that Frenchmen have to study a foreign language (most likely English) and have ample opportunity to visit or practice foreign languages (longer holidays, shorter distances); so most under 50 can read/write somewhat even if they lack practice in speaking and understanding spoken English. American movies and TV now are shown in France, and so, Frenchmen have at least a superficial familiarity with American lifestyles.Big city denizens and government employees are unlikely to be able to accommodate non-French speakers, much as Americans and civil servants are unlikely to deal with foreign languages save for Spanish in some States.Wonderment as there still exists “mom and pop” stores in cities and towns, with a daily ritual of shopping at the bakers, fruit vendors, delicatessens, local groceries as well as occasional trips to fishmongers, pastry makers, candy and chocolate makers, the wine merchant; weekly, often Saturday is open market day at the municipal Halles (Market Hall).With tiny homes, the French socialize daily in cafes, so don’t expect to be invited over much.On the weekend, visit the “hypermarkets” (“Walmarts”); the key difference is that the food hall is more than half the store. Shelves of dairy products stretch beyond what the eye can see. The variety of fresh produce, including local production, is astounding as well as seasonal. Did you know that there are more than a dozen types of cherries or lettuces? That cheeses go from runny at room temperature to rock hard in over a hundred varieties. That day old bread is rejected with some people going to the bakers twice a day for freshness. That your interactions with neighborhood people may be wider and more frequent than in the US where you use your car to shop, rarely hang out in cafes instead of your living room.Easiest Adaptation - Longer, more frequent holidays; more foreign travel opportunity.France has statutory minimum of about 4 weeks of vacation per year. With public holidays, another two weeks are available. Many families head off for weeks in August, leading to seasonal closures in cities’ businesses, but, usefully, lighter crowds as many French will have left town.Since France borders 6 countries and has a tunnel link to England, “foreign travel” is easy, not costly and rapid (Pre COVID, at least). Outside of the UK and Ireland, NOT studying a 2nd language since primary school is the exception.Everyday life challengesResidency PermitsUsually, a newly-arrived immigrant from outside the EU is allowed one-year, renewable permits (Carte de Séjour). After three years, the person may be offered a multi-year resident (Carte de Résident de longue durée, usually valid for 10 years)Accommodation is a BIG problem in Paris. Cost is somewhat less exorbitant than in NYC. However, it is extremely difficult to have a lease for an unfurnished apartment; residential leases terms are statutory with indexing of rent, minimum term of several years. It is very much in favor of lessees, so lessors are extremely demanding or choosy.If you are a well-paid employee of a major firm, that may be sufficient but, in many cases, one would need a payment guarantee of a year’s lease either by blocking an account (like an escrow) or by guarantee of a firm or a French resident (assuming that such practises remain available).Others costs includeOccupancy tax (taxe d’habitation; impôts locaux) are imposed on the occupant by the government. Tenants are liable for this as a cost of using city services. It may be collected monthly or quarterly.Property Ownership tax (Taxe Foncière). This is paid annually by the owners even of empty property.In the US “Property Tax” = Taxe d’habitation + Taxe foncière.So, a French lease excludes the Taxe d’habitation, whereas a US lease includes it - so US leases tend to vary widely according to property values from year to year. In France, the lease or rental amount is stably indexed but the Occupancy tax is charged to the tenant.Monthly maintenance charges (charges mensuelles). Whereas neighborhood or condo associations in the US organize common area services, and charge occupants a monthly share of expenses, in France, it is usually in the hands of commercial building maintenance firms or organization called “Syndicats immobiliers”. This pays for cleaning, repairs, common area maintenance, waste disposal and, sometimes, a live-in building supervisor (“concierge”)Upfront capital costs / Key money (la reprise d’appartement). In addition, French “unfurnished” means bare walls. Tenants install their own kitchen, cabinets and equipment. For that reason, a previous tenant could require “key money” as reimbursement for any fixtures they leave - otherwise, you could be left with a place with no cabinets, appliances, floor covering and window treatments. The more tony areas also have some “key money” that is almost a premium access fee that is strictly illegal but often practised.Healthcare Access and Medical insurance (Public Coverage usually combined with Private Insurance)If you are employed, they may offer a wrap-around complementary private insurance on top of the French public coverage, or covering travel outside of France. If you are not (freelancer, retiree, entrepreneur), you will have to get registered with the local Social Security office that also opens the door to health insurance, usually via Amélie (Assurance Maladie). Most French people (87%) have private “complementary” coverage to cover both the higher fees of non-State providers as well as for premium “hospitality” (like private rooms) and para-medical (dental, optical, hearing). Those “complémentaires” are often non-profit and low cost.Public health coverage operates like a national HMO with your “généraliste” acting as a PCP gatekeeper for access to specialists.However, your private health insurance policy may allow for directly consulting with a specialist - but it won’t be covered by the government system.You can get a list of English-speaking MDs from the US Embassy but many French MDs are accustomed to reading English medical texts, so, in extremis, write out your questions and answers.Education for childrenFrance is mostly safe for minors to travel on their own in daytime, and public transport is dense; so, unlike in the US, many children travel to school unsupervised. Nonetheless, until they are familiar with transport and the lay of the land, you may have to do as in the US, take them to school and back.French schools have a pecking order, even in the public sector. If you want your children to be only in a French curriculum, learn as much as possible about the landscape. From 5 to 12, your children would most rapidly make the linguistic transtion; they’ll soon be your daily life interpreters and get a sense of responsibility in the family.Teenagers, already disoriented by loss of familiar relationships, have a harder time both linguistically and socially. You may want to put them initially in immersion French courses to ease their transition. Bilingual schools are especially suitable for teens since they face a harder linguistic learning curve and social isolation issues. Besides those with American curricula, there are a number of schools with British equivalence or with EU equivalence. The best such schools may not be close to your residence, so you may want to consider weekday boarding, seeing your kids on weekends and holidays (all 4–6 weeks of yours, and the 12 weeks of theirs - unless you can have them join the Spring School Skiing trips or send them to their country of birth with grandparents in Summer).Higher education. While health professions are only taught at universities, other disciplines are also taught in “elite” schools with competitive entry and assessment methods, the “Grandes Ecoles”. If you wish your child to attend university or a Grande Ecole in France, the benefit would be much lower tuition costs than in the US where one usually has to make financial plans as soon as a child is born!Pensions & Workers Compensation. In France, there are public, autonomous pension funds, organized by professional group. Get ready to the land of obtuse acronyms (AGIRC, ARRCO…) These pension funds are decoupled from the solvency of employers. Ask the HR department to explain but it takes a while to understand.French Banking - Opening a French bank account. Very difficult for Americans because of FATCA.The Obama Administration slipped in FATCA into the PACA. This technical-sounding law basically has been forced upon non-US banks into becoming screeners for US taxpayers among their clients. Although the terms of FATCA contravene privacy laws in many countries, since the USD is the world reserve currency, non-compliance by a foreign bank can lead to its bankruptcy if the US Treasury blocks US dollar transactions of that bank. The work-around is that the international bank (not the foreign government) complies with FATCA and forces American account holders to give up their right to financial privacy regarding FATCA! It takes hundreds of millions of euros for a bank’s transaction systems to be compliant with the automated reporting of FATCA, so most smaller banks simply reject any client who MAY be subject to US taxation (i.e. “US Persons” in the IRS definition - not the Immigration definition).As a result, long-term expatriate American clients of foreign banks, binationals, their spouses and even children have been subject to account freezing or closures unless the clients signed away their rights to non-disclosure to the IRS/FinCen or signed affidavits that they were not subject to US taxes. Only the largest foreign banks have invested in the compliance systems of FATCA; in France, it is BNP Paribas that had been fined over $1 billion! Almost every other French bank will likely discourage your custom as a retail customer.Filing Taxes. Americans are obliged to file Income Tax for life, regardless of residence. This means double complexity - the local country and the US’ tax filing obligations, on dual timetables. Banking secrecy has gone with FATCA compliance, so it is no longer possible to simply stop filing IRS (and now, also to FinCEN) annually.France Income Tax, it is very straightforward if you are an employee without a complex estate. Taxes are higher than in the US BUT you have no financial worries for health care, no need to plan decades ahead for higher education of children, no need to worry about your employer’s pension fund disappearing… The tax forms are pre-filled with info provided by the employer and many Frenchmen don’t need a CPA. However, if you have income-producing assets and activities outside of France, you should hire an Expert Comptable (= CPA). French residents are taxed on worldwide income but, unlike in the US, that ends when you give up French residency.US Income Tax & FATCA filings. The IRS will be part of your life until you die. Unfortunately, your American government heads the only nation on earth that enforces extraterritorial taxation based on citizenship / status of Lawful Permanent Resident. You should hire an US expat tax service as tax evasion is a felony and subject to punitive penalties. You have to file taxes annually even if there is zero net tax incurred. HR Block has a virtual expat service used by servicemen stationed outside the US but you may wish to locale an IRS accredited agent from the American Embassy.Thanks to FATCA, you also have to annually file notification of all your non-US financial assets if they totaled over $10k at any point in the year. This is to FinCen - in addition to the IRS.Option 1 Scheme for US taxation - FEIE (Foreign Earned Income Exclusion) If your only income in France is wages (“earned income”) totaling under $90k (or whatever the current threshold is), US taxes are greatly simplified if the French earnings are less than a threshold pro-rated to physical presence (FEIE prorated to maximum annual thereshold x non-us physical presence days/365). You would still file US taxes but your income net of FEIE could be zero. KEEP CLOSE RECORD OF YOUR DAYS ON US TERRITORY.Option 2 Scheme for US Taxation - FTC (Foreign Tax Credit). If your income is higher than the maximum FEIE threshold, or if you have significant “non-earned income” (rental income, alimony, passive investments, trust disbursements, dividends, foreign bonds, real estate earnings, foreign capital gains, royalties etc.), it’s usually cheaper to opt for filing US taxes on world income but deducting allowed foreign taxation on such income. Since, in most cases, the foreign taxation is less than US tax, so the net US tax bill could be zero.If you are resident in a country that only taxes national income (i.e. Panama, Bermuda etc.), you would still have to pay the IRS taxes as if you were resident in the US; the only “saving” would be not being obliged to enroll in Medicare when you reach 65 years if you wish to avoid a late enrolment penalty. However, if you intend to return to the US annually beyond even if retired overseas, it may make sense to enroll in Medicare at age 65 and also subscribe to a zero premium wraparound HMO Medicare Plan - just remember that you have to have at least an annual checkup for an HMO. Choose a US residence that is convenient to your lifestyle and travel pattern. (e.g.Chicago versus Ann Arbor, Denver versus Reno, PHL versus Norristown, San Francisco versus Eureka, Miami versus Ocala, Boston versus Hartford…). I don’t know if the pandemic of 2020 would allow for continued “virtual consultation” regarding annual checkup.Some taxation treaties between the US and a foreign nation restrict categories on income etc. Don’t assume anything as each country pair treaty is different.Estate Planning & PortfoliosFrench inheritance is taxed more and the rules are more rigid and complex.For example, in France, you cannot disinherit biological or adopted children, nor can you allocate grossly inequitable assets among them; the spouse cannot be favored at the expense of children. That is the basis of Paloma Picasso’s fortune; she was born to one of Pablo’s mistresses and sued to acquire his lastname and a share of his estate.The “wicked, gold-digging step mother” or “swindler of widows” is less likely to be successful in France than in the US since estates limit what spouses inherit and children cannot be disinherited. If you hear otherwise in the French press (like Johnny Hallyday né SMET whose last wife Laetitia is accused of grabbing most of Johnny’s estate to the detriment of his children by former marriages), it because they had expatriated outside of France (to the US in the case of Johnny Hallyday).If there is an indivisible asset (like a property) and the heirs cannot arrange how to share (e.g. buyout), the contested (“indivision”) estate can go into independent disposal by sale for liquidation and disbursement. In the case of the Picasso heirs, there was a division of paintings, some of which were given to the State in lieu of estate taxes.If you have major assets around the world and there is a chance that you pass away as a French resident subject to French estate law, it is worthwhile arranging inter-generational transfers BEFORE you become a French taxpayer.Portfolio taxation on non-US instruments is dissuasively high for US Persons. The US taxes foreign source instruments at a much higher rate than US-source investments. (See PFIC) Basically, the IRS taxes capital gains from non-US financial investments as if they were ordinary income. This dissuades Americans, whether residing in the US or not, from investing in any non-US-based funds! It is a form of financial instrument protectionism by the US; if you wish to invest in non-US stocks, do so only via US instruments, or directly in individual foreign stocks. However, the French would also tax any gains from your worldwide portfolio if you restrict investment only in US instruments.If you have a non-US pension, depending upon the taxation treaty of the two countries, you may be subject to double taxation! For example, a British multinational may be able to pay into its US pension fund for an American working in London. Work this out if the foreign pension is substantial.The Cocooned Expatriate.In other words, if you are in an Anglophone cocoon for work and socializing (multinational executive, jurist, diplomat) you would simply be one of many transient “expats” in Paris. In such situations, the employer would provide or have a staff for administrative service to arrange the administrative dealings for residence, drivers license, spouse employment, child care, schooling, taxes, health insurance, home insurance, rent etc.There are some long-term expatriate Americans who NEVER integrate into French society, even after 10 years, and are destined to be forever an outsider limited to socializing with a small expatriate community, many of whom are transient.There may be some French families who are very worldly and all can socialize in English, but that’s a very thin stratum of Frenchmen.PS. Don’t expect to develop many friends among Frenchmen at work; work and private life are compartmentalized in France. People will be cordial at work but don’t expect to be invited for a weekend party or meal. There is a social firewall that allows diverse, individualistic French character to flourish without judgment and civil working relations.The On-His/Her-Own ImmigrantIf you take up residence as a long-term visitor or immigrant (student, artist, scientist, performer, model, teacher…) you would find it challenging unless you have a very generous-minded bilingual friend OR pay for bilingual facilitators. There is now on-the-fly interpretation on connected smartphones that can do if all else fails.Unless you are so well-to-do that you can hire interpreters for everyday tasks, I would suggest that your fist priority is to “invest” initially in immersion French courses, both a pleasurable and highly efficient way to learn about France and practice French. See other Quora entries about choosing a course - but essentially, go with an accredited school NOT in Paris.Even if you are learning French in order to enroll in a French University, I suggest you arrive at least a month before the start of the term and do at least 2 weeks of immersion. Although there are some exchange courses in English (e.g. at Sciences Po, HEC etc.), the general minimum requirement to attend French university is B2, a level that is hard to achieve in terms of understanding spoken French without at least a year of living in French society. Ideally, a French student who orients you would be very useful in taking the mystery out of a strange new world.Despite the yearning to socialize in English and pain of loneliness, if you want to minimize the acculturation process, seek out French interaction and avoid Anglophone conversations as much as possible. France is a very volunteer-oriented society and there are many opportunities to volunteer among French people; see at the local town hall (mairie) or its website. You can also take up some activity (horse-riding, a craft…) where you will interact in French and get accustomed to vocabulary and speech.as an in-country experience would

Apparently you either relied on someone else for your information, or you just didn't pay attention. So let me refresh your memory.Here's the Timeline of the Trump Administration's Response to the Wuhan CoronavirusBeth Baumann | Apr 13, 2020 8:00 PMSource: AP Photo/Alex BrandonThe Trump campaign on Monday released a timeline of the Trump administration's response to the Wuhan coronavirus. Below is the timeline of events around the world and throughout the United States. Prominent decisions and actions are bolded.DECEMBER:December 31: China reports the discovery of the coronavirus to the World Health Organization.JANUARY:January 3: CDC Director Robert Redfield sent an email to the director of the Chinese CDC, George Gao, formally offering to send U.S. experts to China to investigate the coronavirus.January 5: CDC Director Redfield sent another email to the Chinese CDC Director, George Gao, formally offering to send U.S. experts to China to investigate the coronavirus outbreak,January 6: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel notice for Wuhan, China due to the spreading coronavirus.January 7: The CDC established a coronavirus incident management system to better share and respond to information about the virus.January 11: The CDC issued a Level I travel health notice for Wuhan, China.January 17: The CDC began implementing public health entry screening at the 3 U.S. airports that received the most travelers from Wuhan – San Francisco, New York JFK, and Los Angeles.January 20: Dr. Fauci announces the National Institutes of Health is already working on the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus.January 21: The CDC activated its emergency operations center to provide ongoing support to the coronavirus response.January 23: The CDC sought a “special emergency authorization” from the FDA to allow states to use its newly developed coronavirus test.January 27: President Trump tweeted that he made an offer to President Xi Jinping to send experts to China to investigate the coronavirus outbreak.January 27: The CDC issued a level III travel health notice urging Americans to avoid all nonessential travel to China due to the coronavirus.January 27: The White House Coronavirus Task Force started meeting to help monitor and contain the spread of the virus and provide updates to the President.January 29: The White House announced the formation of the Coronavirus Task Force to help monitor and contain the spread of the virus and provide updates to the President.January 31: The Trump Administration:Declared the coronavirus a public health emergency.Announced Chinese travel restrictions.Suspended entry into the United States for foreign nationals who pose a risk of transmitting the coronavirus.January 31: The Department of Homeland Security took critical steps to funnel all flights from China into just 7 domestic U.S. airports.FEBRUARY:February 3: The CDC had a team ready to travel to China to obtain critical information on the novel coronavirus, but were in the U.S. awaiting permission to enter by the Chinese government.February 4: President Trump vowed in his State of the Union Address to “take all necessary steps” to protect Americans from the coronavirus.February 6: The CDC began shipping CDC-Developed test kits for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus to U.S. and international labs.February 7: President Trump told reporters that the CDC is working with China on the coronavirus.February 9: The White House Coronavirus Task Force briefed governors from across the nation at the National Governors’ Association Meeting in Washington.February 11: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expanded a partnership with Janssen Research & Development to “expedite the development” of a coronavirus vaccine.February 12: The U.S. shipped test kits for the 2019 novel coronavirus to approximately 30 countries who lacked the necessary reagents and other materials.February 12: The CDC was prepared to travel to China but had yet to receive permission from the Chinese government.February 14: The CDC began working with five labs to conduct “community-based influenza surveillance” to study and detect the spread of coronavirus.February 18: HHS announced it would engage with Sanofi Pasteur in an effort to quickly develop a coronavirus vaccine and to develop treatment for coronavirus infections.February 22: A WHO team of international experts arrives in Wuhan, China.February 24: The Trump Administration sent a letter to Congress requesting at least $2.5 billion to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.February 26: President Trump discussed coronavirus containment efforts with Indian PM Modi and updated the press on his Administration’s containment efforts in the U.S. during his state visit to India.February 29: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed certified labs to develop and begin testing coronavirus testing kits while reviewing pending applications.February 29: The Trump Administration:Announced a level 4 travel advisory to areas of Italy and South Korea.Barred all travel to Iran.Barred the entry of foreign citizens who visited Iran in the last 14 days.MARCH:March 3: The CDC lifted federal restrictions on coronavirus testing to allow any American to be tested for coronavirus, “subject to doctor’s orders.”March 3: The White House announced President Trump donated his fourth-quarter salary to fight the coronavirus.March 4: The Trump Administration announced the purchase of approximately 500 million N95 respirators over the next 18 months to respond to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.March 4: Secretary Azar announced that HHS was transferring $35 million to the CDC to help state and local communities that have been impacted most by the coronavirus.March 6: President Trump signed an $8.3 billion bill to fight the coronavirus outbreak.The bill provides $7.76 billion to federal, state, & local agencies to combat the coronavirus and authorizes an additional $500 million in waivers for Medicare telehealth restrictions.March 9: President Trump called on Congress to pass a payroll tax cut over coronavirus.March 10: President Trump and VP Pence met with top health insurance companies and secured a commitment to waive co-pays for coronavirus testing.March 11: President Trump:Announced travel restrictions on foreigners who had visited Europe in the last 14 days.Directed the Small Business Administration to issue low-interest loans to affected small businesses and called on Congress to increase this fund by $50 billion.Directed the Treasury Department to defer tax payments for affected individuals & businesses, & provide $200 billion in “additional liquidity.”Met with American bankers at the White House to discuss coronavirus.March 13: President Trump declared a national emergency in order to access $42 billion in existing funds to combat the coronavirus.March 13: President Trump announced:Public-private partnerships to open up drive-through testing collection sites.A pause on interest payments on federal student loans.An order to the Department of Energy to purchase oil for the strategic petroleum reserve.March 13: The Food & Drug Administration:Granted Roche AG an emergency approval for automated coronavirus testing kits.Issued an emergency approval to Thermo Fisher for a coronavirus test within 24 hours of receiving the request.March 13: HHS announced funding for the development of two new rapid diagnostic tests, which would be able to detect coronavirus in approximately 1 hour.March 14: The Coronavirus Relief Bill passed the House of Representatives.March 14: The Trump Administration announced the European travel ban will extend to the UK and Ireland.March 15: President Trump held a phone call with over two dozen grocery store executives to discuss on-going demand for food and other supplies.March 15: HHS announced it is projected to have 1.9 million COVID-19 tests available in 2,000 labs this week.March 15: Google announced a partnership with the Trump Administration to develop a website dedicated to coronavirus education, prevention, & local resources.March 15: All 50 states were contacted through FEMA to coordinate “federally-supported, state-led efforts” to end coronavirus.March 16: President Trump:Held a teleconference with governors to discuss coronavirus preparedness and response.Participated in a call with G7 leaders who committed to increasing coordination in response to the coronavirus and restoring global economic confidence.Announced that the first potential vaccine for coronavirus has entered a phase one trial in a record amount of time.Announced “15 days to slow the spread” coronavirus guidance.March 16: The FDA announced it was empowering states to authorize tests developed and used by labs in their states.March 16: Asst. Secretary for Health confirmed the availability of 1 million coronavirus tests, and projected 2 million tests available the next week and 5 million the following.March 17: President Trump announced:CMS will expand telehealth benefits for Medicare beneficiaries.Relevant Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act penalties will not be enforced.The Army Corps of Engineers is on ”standby” to assist federal & state governments.March 17: President Trump spoke to fast food executives from Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Burger King to discuss drive-thru services recommended by CDCMarch 17: President Trump met with tourism industry representatives along with industrial supply, retail, and wholesale representatives.March 17: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin met with lawmakers to discuss stimulus measures to relieve the economic burden of coronavirus on certain industries, businesses, and American workers.March 17: Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a partnership between USDA, Baylor University, McLane Global, and Pepsi Co. to provide one million meals per weak to rural children in response to widespread school closures.March 17: The Treasury Department:Contributed $10 billion through the economic stabilization fund to the Federal Reserve’s commercial paper funding facility.Deferred $300 billion in tax payments for 90 days without penalty, up to $1 million for individuals & $10 million for business.March 17: The Department of Defense announced it will make available to HHS up to five million respirator masks and 2,000 ventilators.March 18: President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides free testing and paid sick leave for workers impacted by the coronavirus.March 18: President Trump announced:Temporary closure of the U.S.-Canada border to non-essential traffic.Plans to invoke the Defense Production Act in order to increase the number of necessary supplies needed to combat coronavirus.FEMA has been activated in every region at its highest level of response.The U.S. Navy will deploy USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy hospital ships.All foreclosures and evictions will be suspended for a period of time.March 18: Secretary of Defense Mark Esper confirmed:1 million masks are now immediately available.The Army Corps of Engineers is in NY consulting on how to best assist state officials.March 18: HHS temporarily suspended a regulation that prevents doctors from practicing across state lines.March 18: President Trump spoke to:Doctors, physicians, and nurses on the front lines containing the spread of coronavirus.130 CEOs of the Business Roundtable to discuss on-going public-private partnerships in response to the coronavirus pandemic.March 19: President Trump announced:Very encouraging progress shown by anti-malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine for fighting coronavirus.Carnival Cruise Lines will make ships available for use as hospitals in impacted areas to use for non-coronavirus patients.March 19: Vice President Pence announced tens of thousands of ventilators have been identified that can be converted to treat patients.March 19: The State Department issued a global level 4 health advisory, telling Americans to avoid all international travel due to coronavirus.March 19: President Trump directed FEMA to take the lead on the Federal Government’s coronavirus response & visited FEMA HQ with Vice President Pence for a video call with Governors.March 20: The U.S. and Mexico agree to mutually restrict nonessential cross-border traffic.March 20: Secretary Mnuchin announced at the direction of President Trump that tax day will be moved from April 15 to July 15 for all taxpayers and businesses.March 20: President Trump:Spoke with Sen. Schumer about coronavirus response & stimulus measuresHeld a call with over 12,000 small business owners to discuss relief effortsAnnounced the CDC will invoke Title 42 to provide border patrol with tools to secure the bordersMarch 20: The Department of Education announced it will:Not enforce standardized testing requirements for the remainder of the school yearAllow federal student loan borrowers to stop payments without penalty for 60 daysMarch 20: Secretary Azar announced:FEMA is coordinating and assisting coronavirus testing at labs across the countryThe CDC is suspending all illegal entries to the country based on the public health threat, via Section 362 of the Public Health & Security ActMarch 20: Secretary Azar sent a letter to all 50 Governors that the federal government is buying and making available 200,000 testing swabsMarch 21: Vice President Pence announced to date over 195,000 Americans tested for coronavirus and have received their resultsMarch 21: The Trump Administration announced HHS placed an order for hundreds of millions of N95 masks through FEMAMarch 21: The FDA announced it had given emergency approval to a new coronavirus test that delivers results in hours, with an intended rollout of March 30March 21: Adm. Giroir confirmed 10 million testing kits had been put into the commercial market from March 2 through March 14March 22: President Trump approved major disaster declarations for:Washington StateCaliforniaMarch 22: President Trump announced:Governors will remain in command of National Guard forces & the federal govt will fund 100% of operations costHe directed the federal govt to provide 4 large federal medical stations with 2,000 beds for CA & 1,000 beds for NY & WA.March 22: President Trump confirmed his administration was working with Peru & Honduras to return Americans stranded in both countries as a result of travel restrictions.March 22: Vice President Pence announced:The testing backlog will be resolved by midweek.To date, over 254,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their results.March 22: President Trump announced that the USNS Mercy will be deployed to Los Angeles.March 22: FEMA issued guidance for tribal governments to seek federal assistance under the President’s emergency declaration.March 23: President Trump signed an executive order invoking section 4512 of the Defense Production Act to prohibit the hoarding of vital medical supplies.March 23: VP Pence announced:313,000 Americans were tested for the coronavirus & received results.FEMA established a supply chain stabilization task force so Americans get supplies they need.HHS will have commercial labs prioritize testing for hospitalized patients.March 23: The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy announced a public-private consortium to:Advance coronavirus research.Provide access to computing technology and resources for researchers.March 23: Attorney General Barr announced:The Justice Department held a National Task Force meeting on hoarding and price gouging.Each of the 93 U.S. Attorney General offices is designating a lead prosecutor to prevent hoarding.March 23: President Trump announced HHS is working to designate essential medical supplies as “scarce” to prohibit hoarding of these items.March 23: The Treasury Department announced it is working with the Federal Reserve to lend up to $300 billion to businesses and local governments.March 24: President Trump announced the Army Corps of Engineers & the National Guard are constructing four hospitals and four medical centers in New York.March 24: President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for the state of Iowa related to the coronavirus outbreak.March 24: Vice President Pence:Confirmed FEMA sent New York 2,000 ventilators.Announced individuals who have recently been in New York should self-quarantine for 14 days.March 24: Dr. Deborah Birx announced the U.S. has conducted more coronavirus tests in the last week than South Korea has over the prior eight weeks.March 24: The U.S. Army issued orders for three army hospitals to deploy their health care professionals to New York and Washington state, at the direction of Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy.March 25: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the #coronavirus outbreak for:TexasFloridaNorth CarolinaMarch 25: President Trump & Vice President Pence held a conference call with 140 non-profit organization leaders, including The Salvation Army & The Red Cross, to discuss coronavirus response efforts.March 25: President Trump signed a bill reauthorizing The Older Americans Act, which supports senior citizens by providing meals, transportation, and other crucial services.March 25: Vice President PenceHeld a conference call with equipment manufacturers to discuss on-going coronavirus response efforts.Announced 432,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received results.Confirmed 4,000 ventilators were delivered to New York.March 25: Vice President Pence held discussions with multiple governors, including the Governor of Indiana & the Governor of MichiganMarch 26: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:IllinoisNew JerseyMarylandMissouriMarch 26: President Trump announced the USNS Comfort will depart for NYC on Saturday to assist in the coronavirus response – 3 weeks ahead of schedule!March 26: President Trump participated in a video conference with the leaders of the G20 to discuss the global coronavirus response & the need for countries to share information and data on the spread of the virus.March 26: President Trump held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the coronavirus.March 26: Vice President Pence announced 552,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their results.March 26: Dr. Fauci announced the Federal Government is working with companies to speed up production of potential coronavirus vaccines while those drugs are still in the trial phase.March 27: President Trump signed The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law.March 27: President Trump signed a Defense Production Act memorandum ordering General Motors (GM) "to accept, perform, and prioritize federal contractors for ventilators.March 27: President Trump signed an executive order allowing the military to activate members of the Selected Reserve and Ready Reserve to active duty to assist with the Federal response to the coronavirus.March 27: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:South CarolinaPuerto RicoMarch 27: President Trump appointed Office of Trade and Manufacturing policy director Peter Navarro to serve as the Defense Production Act Policy Coordinator.March 27: President Trump announced that 100,000 ventilators are projected to be manufactured in the next 100 days, three times the amount typically manufactured in one year.March 27: President Trump announced that Boeing offered the use of three "Dreamlifter" cargo air crafts to transport medical supplies across the country.March 27: Partnering with FEMA, the CDC, and the Coronavirus Task Force, Apple released a coronavirus app which allows users to screen for their symptoms.March 27: President Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the global coronavirus response and committed to helping provide ventilators to the U.K. where possible.March 27: Vice President Pence announced that 685,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their test results.March 27: Emory University began enrolling participants for a phase one clinical trial, sponsored by the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), of a new, potential coronavirus vaccine.March 27: FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor spoke to the director of each of the state's emergency operations about the state-led, federally-supported coronavirus response effort.March 27: The USNS Mercy arrived in the port of Los Angelse to help relieve the strain on hospital facilities in Southern California.March 28: President Trump visited Norfolk, VA to send off the USNS Comfort to New York City where it will help relieve the strain on local hospitals.March 28: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:GuamMichiganMassachusettsKentuckyColoradoMarch 28: President Trump spoke with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis regarding the coronavirus response effort.March 28: The CDC issued new guidance for residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to avoid non-essential domestic travel for 14 days to #StopTheSpread of the coronavirus within the U.S.March 29: President Trump announced that CDC guidelines will be extended through April 30 to promote #socialdistancing and other measures to stop the spread of the #coronavirus.March 29: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:ConnecticutOregonGeorgiaWashington DCMarch 29: President Trump met with supply chain distributors including FedEx, Cardinal Health, and UPS to discuss ways to get state and local governments necessary medical supplies to combat the coronavirus.March 29: President Trump congratulated the Army Corps of Engineers for having completed construction on a 2,900 bedroom temporary hospital at the Javits Center in New York.March 29: President Trump tweeted his support for the FDA to expedite the approval process to approve mask sterilization equipment produced by Battelle.March 29: President Trump announced the on-going study of 1,100 patients in New York being treated with Hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus.March 29: President Trump directed the Treasury & Labor Departments to look at reinstating deductions of business expenses at restaurants, bars, and entertainment businesses to help the hospitality industry.March 29: The first "Project Airbridge" shipment of medical supplies from abroad, organized by FEMA, landed at JFK airport, carrying 80 tons of masks, face shields, and other vital medical supplies.March 29: President Trump announced that Cigna and Humana are waving co-pays for coronavirus treatment.March 29: Vice President Pence sent a letter to hospital administrators requesting that hospitals across the country report their coronavirus data to the Federal Government in addition to state authorities.March 29: Adm. Giroir announced that 894,000 Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their results.March 29: HHS accepted 30 million doses of Hydroxychloroquine, donated by Sandoz, and one million doses of Chloroquine, donated by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, for clinical trials and possible treatment of coronavirus patients.March 30: President Trump announced that one million Americans have been tested for coronavirus and received their results.March 30: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:AlabamaKansasPennsylvaniaRhode IslandMarch 30: Secretary Azar announced that the FDA has approved Battelle’s N95 mask sanitization process for use to decontaminate tens of thousands of masks per day.March 30: President Trump announced further private sector commitments to manufacture personal protective equipment by MyPillow, Honeywell, Jockey, Procter & Gamble, and United Technologies.March 30: President Trump announced, to date, FEMA has dedicated $1.3 billion to assist New York State’s coronavirus response.March 30: President Trump announced “more than 14,000” National Guard service members have been activated to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.March 30: President Trump spoke with the nation’s governors about their need for medical supplies.March 30: President Trump announced that in the coming days the Federal Government will be delivering:400 ventilators to Michigan300 ventilators to New Jersey150 ventilators to Louisiana150 ventilators to Illinois50 ventilators to ConnecticutMarch 30: President Trump spoke to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy and pledged to send $100 million of medical supplies to aid Italy’s battle against coronavirus.March 30: Answering President Trump’s call for the private sector to join the fight against the #coronavirus, Ford Motor Company committed to producing 50,000 ventilators in the next 100 days.March 30: On coronavirus testing, Secretary Azar announced that the U.S. is currently testing nearly 100,000 samples per day.March 30: HHS took steps to accelerate a clinical trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Janssen Research & Development.March 30: CMS announced new regulatory changes to cut red tape and give flexibility to America’s health care workers by relaxing hospital workforce regulations, expanding child care, meal, and laundry services for health care workers, expanding tele-health reimbursement, and more.March 30: The USNS Comfort arrived in New York Harbor, providing more than 1,000 more hospital beds for patients without coronavirus, to relieve pressure on local hospitals.March 30: The USNS Mercy began treating patients in Los Angeles.March 31: President Trump officially issued “30 Days To Slow The Spread” guidance to mitigate the outbreak of coronavirus.March 31: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:OhioMontanaMarch 31: President Trump participated in a conference call with executives of American Network Service Providers to promote connectivity amid social distancing.March 31: President Trump announced that the federal government is stockpiling 10,000 ventilators to be urgently distributed as needed once the coronavirus pandemic hits its peak in the U.S.March 31: President Trump announced that the Treasury Department and SBA are rapidly mobilizing money from the CARES Act’s $349 billion paycheck protection program, with the program set to be “up and running” by April 3.March 31: President Trump spoke to Michigan Governor Whitmer about the state’s need for ventilators.March 31: President Trump announced the Army Corps of Engineers & FEMA will construct:8 facilities with 50,000 bed capacity in CaliforniaA field hospital with 250 bed capacity in Michigan2 field hospitals in Louisiana with 500 bed capacityAn alternative care sight in New Orleans with a 3,000 bed capacityMarch 31: President Trump spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the international effort to defeat the coronavirus and support the global economy.March 31: President Trump and the First Lady spoke with their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain about efforts to combat the coronavirus.March 31: Vice President Pence announced that 10 states now have access to federal funding for The National Guard to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.March 31: Vice President Pence announced that 17,000 National Guard Servicemen have been activated across the country to assist in the coronavirus response.March 31: Vice President Pence announced that 1.1 million coronavirus tests have been completed.March 31: Adm. Giroir & Surgeon General Adams issued an open letter to the U.S. health care community about how to optimize the use of ventilators.March 31: The FDA issued an emergency use authorization for a two-minute coronavirus antibody test developed by Bodysphere Inc.March 31: The Treasury Department and IRS launched the employee retention credit, created by the CARES Act to incentivize businesses to keep their employees on payroll, and said businesses can begin using it.March 31: The VA announced that it had expanded virtual services to veterans, continuing to provide care while limiting in-person interactions that could potentially harm vulnerable populations at VA facilities.APRIL:April 1: President Trump approved a major disaster declaration related to the coronavirus outbreak for:North DakotaHawaiiThe Northern Mariana IslandsApril 1: President Trump spoke to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon about the need to procure gowns for hospitalsApril 1: President Trump spoke to military families whose relocation or reunion with loved ones was impacted by the coronavirus.April 1: President Trump announced that the construction & refurbishing of two additional hospital ships like the USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort are being considered.April 1: Vice President Pence announced that 1.2 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 1: The White House, HHS, and the FDA worked with Senator Rob Portman to acquire and authorize for use over two million gowns donated to the Strategic National Stockpile by Cardinal Health.April 1: Dr. Birx announced that the White House issued a challenge to universities and states to develop ELISA, or Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays, tests to detect coronavirus antibodies in larger communities more quickly.April 1: The Treasury Department released FAQs to help small and medium businesses understand the paid sick and family leave tax credits now offered under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.April 1: The Department of Labor posted a temporary rule to implement the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in order to provide paid sick and family leave.April 1: In New York City, the USNS Comfort began treating its first patients.April 1: The VA opened its East Orange, NJ medical center to serve non-veteran coronavirus patients to assist the state and FEMA in their response to coronavirus.April 1: The Treasury Department announced that Social Security recipients, including senior citizens, disabled Americans, and low-income Americans who do not file tax returns will have their coronavirus relief payments directly deposited into their bank accounts.April 2: President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to direct 3M to produce more N95 respirator masks.April 2: President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to help 6 companies (General Electric, Hill-Rom Holdings, Medtronic, ResMed, eRoyal Philips, and Vyaire Medical) get the supplies they need to make ventilators.April 2: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the #coronavirus outbreak for:VirginiaTennesseeThe U.S. Virgin IslandsApril 2: President Trump discussed the production of ventilators with GM CEO Mary Barra.April 2: President Trump announced that The Javits Center temporary hospital will be converted into a coronavirus hospital.April 2: President Trump announced that the Department of Defense will be establishing 48 more ICU beds in New York.April 2: President Trump announced that the Federal Government will be establishing a coronavirus hospital in Louisiana and Texas.April 2: President Trump took an additional coronavirus test and tested negative.April 2: President Trump ordered the Federal Government to cover the costs of all National Guard operations in states with recently approved disaster declarations.April 2: President Trump sent Senator Chuck Schumer a letter debunking false claims made against the Trump Administration’s coronavirus response.April 2: Secretary Mnuchin and Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza announced that the Paycheck Protection Program, created by the CARES Act to provide $350 billion in loans to small businesses, will be launched tomorrow.April 2: Secretary Mnuchin announced that the first relief payments will be dispersed within two weeks.April 2: Vice President Pence announced that 1.3 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 2: Vice President Pence announced that all Blue Cross Blue Shield Members will be waiving out of pocket costs for coronavirus treatment.April 2: Rear Adm. Polowczyk announced FEMA’s Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force has delivered:27.1 million surgical masks19.5 N95 million respirator masks22.4 million surgical gloves5.2 million face shieldsOver 7,600 ventilatorsApril 2: First Lady Melania Trump had a phone call with Mrs. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau of Canada, who is recovering from the coronavirus.April 2: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced $25 billion in federal funding to support public transportation systems in response to the coronavirus.April 2: The Department of Justice and HHS distributed 192,000 N95 respirator masks confiscated from price gougers to health care workers in New York and New Jersey.April 2: The FDA approved the first coronavirus antibody test, developed by Cellex.April 2: The FDA issued new guidance to increase the supply of blood donations, reducing the deferral period for gay men from 12 months to 3 months.April 2: The Department of Education donated 5,760 N95 respirator masks discovered in storage to aid the fight against the coronavirus.April 2: Secretary Pompeo announced that the State Department has now brought home 30,000 Americans stranded overseas as a result of coronavirus-related travel restrictions.April 2: April 2: HHS announced it was relaxing enforcement of HIPAA violations to encourage health care providers to share coronavirus data and information with federal and state health care officials.April 2: The Trump Administration issued recommendations to nursing homes to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus.April 2: HUD announced it was immediately making $3 billion of CARES Act funding available to help America’s low-income families and most vulnerable citizens across the nation.April 2: The Energy Department announced it would immediately make 30 million barrels of the strategic petroleum reserve’s (SPR’s) oil storage capacity available to struggling U.S. oil producers.April 3: President Trump announced new voluntary CDC guidelines that all Americans wear non-medical, fabric or cloth face masks to prevent asymptomatic spread of coronavirus.April 3: The President met with energy execs from Phillips 66, Devon Energy, Continental Resources, Hilcorp Energy, Occidental Petroleum, The American Petroleum Institute, The Energy Transfer Partners, Chevron, & Exxon Mobil to discuss coronavirus’ impact on the energy industry.April 3: President Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss convening the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in an effort to defeat the coronavirus and discuss its impact on the world.April 3: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:New HampshireWest VirginiaIndianaArkansasOregonApril 3: President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum blocking the export of N95 and other respirator masks, surgical masks, PPE gloves, and surgical gloves to ensure they are available in the U.S. – designating them as “scarce” under the Defense Production Act.April 3: President Trump announced that Anthem will waive co-pays for coronavirus treatment for 60 days.April 3: President Trump announced that uninsured Americans will have their coronavirus treatment covered, using funding from the CARES Act.April 3: Trump Administration officials spoke to the directors of the two largest health care providers in Louisiana, Ochsner and LCMC Health, to discuss their need for medical supplies.April 3: President Trump directed FEMA to send Ochsner Surgical Gowns.April 3: President Trump announced that 9,000 retired Army medical personnel have volunteered and are assisting the federal response to the coronavirus.April 3: President Trump announced that the DOJ and HHS have together secured:200,000 N95 masks130,000 surgical masks600,000 glovesfrom hoarders and have distributed the supplies to health care workers.April 3: Vice President Pence announced that 1.4 million coronavirus tests have been completed to date.April 3: Vice President Pence announced that 18,000 machines are already available across the country to administer Abbott 15 Minute Coronavirus Tests, with another 1,200 soon to be distributed to states.April 3: Vice President Pence announced that a Project Airbridge flight landed in Columbus, Ohio with medical supplies.April 3: Secretary Azar announced a public-private partnership with Oracle to collect crowd-sourced data on coronavirus therapeutic treatments.April 3: The SBA launched the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, issuing more than 17,500 loans valued at $5.4 billion.April 3: The Army Corps of Engineers is working with states to assess 750 requests for temporary hospital facilities, having completed 673 already.April 3: The FDA announced it would coordinate the national effort to develop blood-related therapies for COVID-19.April 3: The Defense Department’s Joint Acquisition Task Force launched a new portal giving the private sector the ability to submit information and solutions to the DoD.April 3: The State Department announced that they have awarded contracts for 8 new medical facilities, totaling 9,693 new beds.April 3: The Department of Labor issued guidance to help employers reduce their use of N95 respirators, freeing up supply for the coronavirus response.April 3: HUD announced it is making $200 million in Indian housing block grants for Indian Tribes under the CARES Act.April 3: EPA Administrator Wheeler held a call with retailers and marketplace platforms to discuss ways to protect consumers from fake disinfectants.April 3: First Lady Melania Trump held a phone call with Mrs. Brigitte Macron of France to discuss the coronavirus response.April 4: President Trump announced that 1,000 members of the Defense Department’s Medical Corps will be deployed to New York to assist in the fight against coronavirus.April 4: President Trump spoke to commissioners of major league sports organizations including the MLB, NFL, & NBA, recognizing what the leagues, teams, and players are doing in their communities to combat coronavirus.April 4: President Trump tweeted encouragement to American children unable to start their Little League baseball season on time due to coronavirus.April 4: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:NebraskaWisconsinMaineNevadaApril 4: President Trump announced that he was considering a second coronavirus task force focused on the economy.April 4: President Trump urged PM Modi of India to allow Hydroxychloroquine to be shipped to the United States.April 4: President Trump announced that the U.S. government has repatriated over 40,000 Americans from 75 countries.April 4: Vice President Pence spoke to Governors of New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Maryland.April 4: FEMA obligated $44 million to Iowa under the state’s major disaster declaration to combat the coronavirus.April 5: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:South DakotaNew MexicoOklahomaMississippiApril 5: April 5: President Trump announced that by Tuesday, 3,000 military and medical personnel will have deployed to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to assist in the coronavirus response effort.April 5: President Trump announced that the Trump Administration will be sending New York 600,000 N95 masks tomorrow, including 200,000 to Suffolk County alone.April 5: President Trump announced that the Administration will soon send:300 ventilators to Michigan200 ventilators to Louisiana600 ventilators to Illinois100 ventilators to Massachusetts500 ventilators to New JerseyApril 5: President Trump announced the establishment of a federal coronavirus medical station in Washington D.C.April 5: President Trump announced that Washington has returned 400 ventilators to the strategic national stockpile.April 5: President Trump announced that 1.67 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 5: President Trump announced that the government has stockpiled 29 million doses of HydroxychloroquineApril 5: Dr. Birx announced that testing in the New York metro area, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Washington has exceeded the testing rate of Spain and ItalyApril 5: Adm. Polowczyk announced that three Project Airbridge flights of medical supplies landed across the US today carrying:1 million gowns2.8 million surgical masks11.8 million glovesApril 5: Adm. Polowczyk spoke to top health officials from states severely impacted by the coronavirus to discuss the supply chain.April 5: Secretary Wilkie announced that the VA is making 1,500 beds available at VA hospitals to help states and localities across the country.April 5: Vice President Pence spoke to governors from states severely impacted by the coronavirus, including Michigan, Louisiana, and Illinois.April 5: FEMA and The Army Corps of Engineers completed renovations at the McCormick Place Pavilion in Chicago, providing an additional 500 hospital beds for the cityApril 6: President Trump announced an agreement with 3M to produce and import 55.5 million N95 masks each month for the next three months.April 6: President Trump held a call with CEOs from pharmaceutical and bio-tech companies to discuss potential coronavirus therapeutics.April 6: President Trump had a “very friendly” phone call with former Vice President Joe Biden to discuss the coronavirus.April 6: President Trump announced that 1.79 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 6: President Trump approved Governor Murphy’s request to allow New Jersey patients aboard the USNS Comfort.April 6: President Trump approved Governor Cuomo’s request to allow the treatment of coronavirus patients on the USNS Comfort.April 6: President Trump announced that CVS will open two new drive-thru coronavirus testing sites in Georgia and Rhode Island. Both will use Abbott’s rapid coronavirus test.April 6: President Trump announced that the FDA authorized Inovio’s potential coronavirus vaccine for a clinical trial, wile 10 potential coronavirus therapeutic agents are in “active trials” with another 15 potential therapeutics in plans for clinical trials.April 6: President Trump praised the work of the private sector, including Apple and Salesforce, who have agreed to donate personal protective equipment to help defeat the coronavirus.April 6: President Trump announced that The Army Corps of Engineers is building 22 field hospitals and alternative care sites in 18 states.April 6: President Trump announced that 8,450 hospital beds and 8,000 ventilators have been deployed across the country from federal stockpiles.April 6: Vice President Pence announced that to date $4.1 billion has been allocated to states under federal disaster declarations.April 6: Vice President Pence announced that 21,000 National Guard Servicemen have been activated across the country to assist in the fight against coronavirus.April 6: VP Pence announced that thanks to California’s donation of 500 ventilators, the federal government will send:200 ventilators to MD100 ventilators to DE100 ventilators to NV50 ventilators to DC50 ventilators to Guam & the Northern Mariana IslandsApil 6: The CDC began publishing a new, data-centered coronavirus surveillance report on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).April 6: HHS announced an additional $186 million in CDC funding for state and local jurisdictions combatting the coronavirus.April 6: HHS announced it will be purchasing 15-minute coronavirus tests from Abbott for state, territorial, and tribal labs and for the Strategic National Stockpile.April 6: The Department of Education announced a streamlined process making it easier for states to use federal education funding for distance learning during the coronavirus outbreak.April 7: President Trump participated in a conference call with banking executives to discuss how to best deliver financial aid and technical assistance to small businesses.April 7: President Trump announced the SBA has processed “more than $70 billion” in loans to help small businesses as part of the Paycheck Protection Program.April 7: President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Minnesota related to the coronavirus outbreak.April 7: President Trump announced that in addition to the 8,675 ventilators in the strategic national stockpile, the federal government will be acquiring 110,000 ventilators in the next three months to be distributed to states in need.April 7: President Trump announced that 1.87 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 7: President Trump announced his intent to ask Congress for an additional $250 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program to loan to small businesses.April 7: Vice President Pence participated in a conference call with over 500 business owners to discuss their needs amid the coronavirus response effort.April 7: CMS Administrator Verma announced that CMS will make available an additional $30 billion in grants this week for health care organizations with increased operating costs due to the coronavirus.April 7: The State Department announced an additional $225 million in health, humanitarian, and economic assistance to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus around the world.April 7: As part of Project Airbridge, UPS and FEMA began shipments of 25 flights with more than three million pounds of medical supplies.April 7: The Department of Transportation finalized a requirement that airlines who receive assistance under the CARES Act continue flights to destinations they were serving before the outbreak, ensuring commercial flights are available.April 7: The EPA distributed over 1,100 N95 masks to the California Office of Emergency Services.April 8: President Trump spoke to over 10,000 faith leaders & more than 3,000 state, local, and tribal officials to discuss the coronavirus response effort.April 8: Secretary Pompeo announced that since January, over 50,000 Americans have been repatriated by 90 countries in over 480 flights.April 8: Under the DPA, HHS announced a $646.7M contract with Philips to produce 2,500 ventilators for the Strategic National Stockpile by the end of May, and a total of 43,000 by December.April 8: President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Vermont related to the coronavirus outbreak.April 8: President Trump announced that a Project Airbridge shipment of protective gowns landed in Dallas, Texas.April 8: President Trump announced that 10 drugs to potentially be used against the coronavirus are currently in clinical trial.April 8: President Trump thanked Indian PM Modi for allowing a shipment of the life-saving drug hydroxychloroquine to be released to the U.S.April 8: Vice President Pence announced:$98B in forgivable loans were disbursed through the Paycheck Protection Program27,000 National Guard service members were activated across the country to assist in the coronavirus responseApril 8: The CDC issued new guidance for how essential and critical workers who have been exposed to the coronavirus can return to work, with precautions.April 8: Four additional flights as part of Project Airbridge landed across the country, delivering PPE and other medical supplies.April 8: Customs and Borders Protection announced with FEMA that it will detain shipments of PPE in order to keep critical medical supplies within the U.S. for domestic use.April 8: HHS announced an agreement with DuPont and FedEx to rapidly manufacture and deliver 2.25M new Tyvek Protective Suits to the Strategic National Stockpile over the next five weeks.April 8: HHS expanded telehealth services for Native Americans through The Indian Health Service.April 8: HHS authorized pharmacists to order and administer coronavirus tests, further expanding the availability of testing.April 8: HHS awarded $1.3B from the CARES Act to 1,387 health centers in all 50 states, 8 territories, and the District of Columbia to fight coronavirus.April 8: CMS issued updated guidance based on CDC guidelines to protect patients and health care workers in hospitals from the coronavirus.April 8: The USDA announced its approval of Arizona's & California’s request for food stamp recipients to purchase food online, allowing these recipients to purchase groceries for delivery.April 8: The VA announced that it has begun using funding from the CARES Act to pay overtime, hire new staff, and purchase supplies including PPE, beds, and pharmaceuticals.April 9: President Trump spoke with mental health advocates from across the country to discuss their work amid the coronavirus outbreak.April 9: President Trump approved major disaster declarations related to the coronavirus outbreak for:AlaskaIdahoApril 9: President Trump announced that 24 Project Airbridge flights have been completed to date, with an additional 49 flights scheduled.April 9: President Trump announced that there are currently 19 potential coronavirus therapies being tested and another 26 potential therapies in active planning for clinical trials.April 9: President Trump announced that, to date, over 2 million coronavirus tests have been completed.April 9: Vice President Pence announced that $125B in Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans has been approved to date.April 9: Vice President Pence announced that a total of 29,000 National Guard service members have been activated across the country to assist in the coronavirus response.April 9: Vice President Pence announced that to date 4,100 military medical personnel have been deployed to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.April 9: The Treasury Department announced that it extended over 300 tax filing, payment, and administrative deadlines to give relief to taxpayers.April 9: Working with the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve announced new lending programs providing up to $2.3T in loans to businesses and state & local governments.April 9: HHS announced it would relax enforcement of HIPPAA for pharmacies and other organizations that are working at coronavirus testing sites, helping these groups focus on testing.April 9: Secretary of Education DeVos announced that $6.3B in CARES Act funding will be immediately distributed to colleges and universities to provide cash grants to students affected by the coronavirusApril 9: The EPA announced that more than 11,500 pieces of PPE have been transferred to FEMA, which will be later transferred to state and local agencies across New England combating the coronavirus.April 9: The USDA launched the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Program in Michigan, which will help feed children eligible for USDA school lunch programs who are now home during the coronavirus outbreak.April 9: The USDA announced relief for farmers across the country by giving borrowers 12 months to repay marketing assistance loans (MAL), helping protect farmers from being forced to sell crops to make loan payments.April 9: CMS temporarily suspended a number of regulations so that hospitals, clinics, and other health care providers can book the number of staff to confront the coronavirusApril 10: President Trump announced that 60 mask sterilization systems, with the ability to clean over 80,000 masks approximately 20 times, will be sent to 10 cities.April 10: President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the global coronavirus response and the global energy market.April 10: President Trump announced that a field hospital in Seattle will be leaving, as Washington State’s coronavirus outbreak becomes more manageable.April 10: President Trump announced that his administration is working to bring blood-based serology tests to market “as quickly as possible” so Americans can determine if they have had the coronavirus.April 10: President Trump announced that he will be establishing an “Opening Our Country Council” with more details coming early next week.April 10: President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to facilitate the supply of medical equipment and other humanitarian relief to Italy.April 10: Dr. Fauci spoke to Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon to discuss coronavirus mitigation in those states.April 10: Vice President Pence, CDC Director Redfield, & Surgeon General Adams spoke to over 400 leaders of the African American community, including Jesse Jackson, NAACP representatives, & the National Black Nurses Association to discuss the impact of the coronavirus.April 10: Vice President Pence spoke to Colorado Governor Jared Polis about the specific needs of his state’s battle against the coronavirus.April 10: Vice President Pence announced that more than 2.1M coronavirus tests have been completed to date.April 10: Vice President Pence announced that:29,600 National Guard Troops have been activated4,700 active duty medical personnel have been deployed to nine statesApril 10: Vice President Pence announced that to date, 26 Project Airbridge flights have landed in the U.S. with PPE, with four flights scheduled to land today with 250,000 gowns and 25M pairs of gloves.April 10: HHS began delivering $30B in relief funding to health care providers, part of the $100B allocated to health care providers by the CARES Act.April 10: The FDA approved an emergency authorization for a blood purification device to treat coronavirus patients.April 10: Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced $1B for Amtrak to continue rail service and respond to the spread of the coronavirus.April 10: The Treasury Department launched a web portal to help Americans who did not file tax returns receive their coronavirus relief payments under the CARES Act.April 10: The Treasury Department announced it will launch a new “get my payment” app where Americans can enter their direct deposit information to get coronavirus relief payments quicker.April 10: The VA deployed medical staffers to New Orleans to help “surge” personnel in the area, which is currently being heavily impacted by the coronavirus.April 11: President Trump approved a major disaster declaration for Wyoming related to the coronavirus outbreak, marking the first time in U.S. history a President has declared that a major disaster exists in all 50 states.April 11: The DoD announced it is using The Defense Production Act to get the private sector to produce 39 million N95 masks within 90 days, a $133M investment.April 11: Three Project Airbridge flights landed in Chicago, Illinois, delivering over 62 million gloves.April 11: The Department of Justice announced it is monitoring state and local social distancing regulations to ensure religious organizations are not unfairly targeted.April 11: The USDA added Florida & Idaho to the food stamp online pilot program, allowing food stamp recipients to purchase food online.April 11: CMS expanded the requirements that private health insurers provide free coronavirus testing, saying that this includes anti-body testing and costs related to coronavirus testing, like emergency room or urgent care visits.April 12: A deal brokered by President Trump was announced between The OPEC countries, Russia, and the U.S. to cut production and stabilize the oil market amid dual disruptions from coronavirus and the price war between Saudi Arabia & Russia.April 12: The FDA issued an emergency authorization to devices from Advanced Sterilization Products, which can decontaminate approximately 4 million N95 respirators each day.April 12: The FBI uncovered an international fraud scheme related to the attempted purchase of 39 million N95 masks by a Service Employees International Union Affiliate.Editor's Note: Want to support Townhall so we can keep telling the truth about China and the virus they unleashed on the world? 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