The President’s son-in-law has quietly taken on a crucial role in the White House’s efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.
According to a new Politico report, Jared Kushner was initially assigned a side job a few weeks ago, to work with private companies to address COVID-19 testing issues across the nation. Now, his role in the White House’s efforts has expanded significantly. Kushner has taken on an outsized role in coordinating with FEMA and has been working with the private sector intimately to produce and deliver needed medical supplies and equipment.
This brand of shadow crisis management has become a staple of Kushner’s White House portfolio, likely only attainable for Kushner because he enjoys Trump’s full confidence and trust, despite lacking most of the experience necessary to be in such a position. Kushner quietly worked with Congress to pass a criminal justice reform bill, became the face of the White House’s Middle East peace plan and even had a strong role in leading the White House’s response to impeachment proceedings.
It’s no surprise that Kushner has now somehow been handed an outsized leadership role in combatting a wildly unprecedented global pandemic. Here’s more on that and other stories we’re following:
What The Investigations Team Is Watching
Josh Kovensky and Matt Shuham are working on a story about doctors being requisitioned to operate ventilators as the COVID-19 crisis escalates.
Kate Riga is looking into new legislation introduced by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) that would enforce sanctions against foreign officials who withhold or distort public health information.
What The Breaking News Team Is Watching
The Labor Department reported today that a 6.6 million unemployment claims were made last week, which is double the now-former record of 3.3 million claims made in the previous week as the coronavirus outbreak escalated significantly in the U.S. We’ll keep monitoring this each week.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a prominent health expert on the White House Coronavirus Task Force has been receiving threats over his public contradictions with President Trump’s rosy narrative of the COVID-19 virus. The health expert has recently been assigned an extra security detail, according to multiple reports. We’re watching to see if this impacts his relationship with Trump and his role at the White House.
Trump continues to refuse to take responsibility for the increasingly dire medical equipment shortage in New York. When Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized him this morning for his poor response to the crisis, Trump told the senator to “stop complaining.” Trump has nothing on this public schedule today, so we can likely expect more tweets from him.
Today’s Rundown
Trump has nothing on his public schedule today.
5:00 p.m. ET: The White House coronavirus task force will hold it’s briefing.
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Coast Guard Directs Cruise Ships To Remain At Sea ‘Indefinitely’ — Associated Press
What We Are Reading
Governor Admits He Didn’t Know Asymptomatic People Could Pass Virus — MSNBC
Missouri State, County COVID-19 Case Numbers Often Don’t Match. And There’s No One Reason Why. — Janelle O’Dea
Experts Tell White House Coronavirus Can Spread Through Talking Or Even Just Breathing — Elizabeth Cohen