DeFarra Gaymon. Sadly, that is not the worst thing that happened to him. [NYT]
coronavirus
Coronavirus in New York: Latest Updates
THE FEED
Mnuchin’s understaffed Treasury (where this is no chief of staff or legislative director)
As it confronts the worst economic disaster since the 2008 financial crisis, the Treasury Department is riddled with vacancies among its political appointments. Of 20 Senate confirmed roles reporting to the secretary, seven aren’t filled, and four are occupied by acting officials. The domestic finance unit, which should be handling the brunt of the work related to the coronavirus outbreak, is particularly empty. It has no top boss and is missing three assistant secretaries, who are the next level down. …
The lack of leadership and expertise, bank executives say, was on display this week as the department rushed to meet its goal of beginning the small business loan program on Friday. Lenders complained they were urged to start pushing money out the door without detailed guidance from the Treasury on how to process the loans. One problem, the banks said, was how to show they’d verified the identity of applicants, a requirement of anti-money laundering laws.
how was your week?
1,350 New York Readers on the Mounting Difficulties of Life During the Pandemic
the top line
Job Cuts Will Hit Industries You Don’t Expect
coronavirus
Iowa Governor Rejects Fauci’s Stay-at-Home Advice
Another one bites the dust
President Trump has fired Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, according to a letter from Mr. Trump obtained by CBS News. Atkinson handled the complaint from a whistleblower that led to Mr. Trump’s impeachment.
The letter from Mr. Trump was sent to Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner, the heads of the Senate Intelligence Committee. It said Mr. Trump is “exercising my power as president” to remove Atkinson.
“It is extremely important that we promote the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of Federal programs and activities,” the letter said. But, the letter continued, it is “vital” that Mr. Trump have the “fullest confidence” in the Inspector General, and “that is no longer the case.”
coronavirus
The Mystery of ‘Excess Fatality’
The Murdochs are lawyering up
Amid the mushrooming coronavirus crisis, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are girding for a pandemic of public-interest lawsuits over misinformation and conspiracy theories dispensed by certain Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network personalities such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Trish Regan.
According to a top Murdoch executive, the father-and-son media moguls are ready to go to war with potential plaintiffs such as the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics—aka WASHLITE—an activist non-profit that filed suit on Thursday against Rupert Murdoch, Fox News, and other defendants.
2020 elections
Trump Called Massie a ‘Disaster,’ but Will He Support His Primary Challenger?
small business loans
The Small-Business Loan Program Is Already Hitting 4 Big Snags
vision 2020
Against All Logic and Reason, Next Week’s Wisconsin Primary Slouches Ahead
Just a bit behind on this one
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House: Anyone who will be in close proximity to Trump, Pence, will be given rapid COVID-19 test starting Friday.
—@MikeBalsamo1
pro tip
It’s Time to Play a Big, Dumb Video Game
faith
Did My Fundamentalist Upbringing Prepare Me for Coronavirus?
the national circus
Frank Rich: Trump’s Potemkin Recovery
coronavirus
National Stockpile Website Changed to No Longer Contradict Kushner
Maybe that whole “job tied to insurance” system wasn’t the best idea
30 million Americans could lose their private health insurance over the next few months, per new HMA report
—@JStein_WaPo
interesting times
Andrew Sullivan: How to Live With the Coronavirus
the national interest
GOP’s Refusal to Oversee Trump’s Emergency Power Is an Invitation to Corruption
politics
Andrew Cuomo Has Learned Nothing From the Coronavirus Catastrophe at Rikers
coronavirus
Sailors Go Wild for Navy Captain Fired After Warning About Coronavirus
florida
Florida GOP Realizes Deliberately Impoverishing the Unemployed Has Downsides
Still by far the most of any state
BREAKING: There are now 102,863 cases of coronavirus in New York State, says Governor Cuomo.
—@NY1
The numbers keep skyrocketing
A probably wise political decision
Pelosi indicates that the fourth recovery bill could be similar to the $2.2T stimulus that just became law - and the House Dem priorities (infrastructure, broadband, etc. may wait til later.) “I think the bill could be very much like the bill we just passed,” she said on CNBC.
—@mkraju
The official forecasts are getting grimmer
Morgan Stanley now saying we’ll see a “deeper drop into recession and slower climb out.”
“We do not see activity returning to its pre-virus level until the end of 2021.”#coronavirus
—@jolingkent
“We do not see activity returning to its pre-virus level until the end of 2021.”#coronavirus
The U.K. is on a similar track to the U.S.
BREAKING: The UK records its worst death toll so far from #coronavirus with 684 new deaths in a day. Y’day’s rise was 569. The total toll is now 3,605 deaths. The U.K. cases rose almost 5,000 to 38,168. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will now address the nation on TV on Sunday night.
—@BillNeelyNBC
the top line
The Unemployment Situation Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better
A bad number, but next month’s will be far, far worse
WASHINGTON (AP) — US shed 701,000 jobs in March in face of virus, ending a record hiring streak after nearly 10 years.
—@kylegriffin1
The price of federalism amid a pandemic
The Trump administration’s decision to let states chart their own responses to the coronavirus crisis rather than impose a national strategy will cost thousands of lives and is likely to result in an open-ended outbreak rolling across the country, a dozen public health experts told NBC News.
The only way to win what President Donald Trump has called a war against an “invisible enemy” is to establish a unified federal command, the experts insist — something Trump has yet to do. So far, the federal government hasn’t leveraged all its authority and influence to dramatically expand testing and tracing measures, ensure a sufficient supply of crucial medical equipment or require residents of all 50 states to stay at home.
Each day that passes without such a national strategy, the experts say, will raise the ultimate U.S. death toll from COVID-19, the disease associated with the virus. Right now, there aren’t enough tests and gear as states compete with one another to buy them on the open market. And there is very little ability to trace who has the virus and where it is spreading.
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