Inspectors general ask Congress for help in monitoring coronavirus relief payments

Federal watchdogs are asking lawmakers for help after Trump administration legal rulings appeared to sharply limit their ability to monitor more than $1 trillion in coronavirus relief programs — including huge payouts to protect businesses threatened by the pandemic. In a two-page letter to several House and Senate committees last week, but disclosed for the…

Trump’s response to protests is ‘election strategy,’ British official says

The U.K. government should condemn a "deliberate election strategy" by U.S. President Donald Trump to use anti-racism protests to activate his electoral base, said Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary. Asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show to comment on Trump’s response to the protests against the killing by police of George Floyd, that continued…

Trump administration might consolidate pandemic response at State Department

Aides to President Donald Trump are considering a plan to shift the government’s global response to future infectious disease outbreaks to a new unit inside the State Department, according to documents obtained by POLITICO. The proposal, discussed during a National Security Council deputies committee meeting on Thursday, already has set off a turf battle between…

Melinda Gates gives Trump administration ‘D-minus’ for coronavirus response

Melinda Gates on Thursday gave the Trump administration low marks for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, adding that more money is needed for testing and vaccine development in the United States and across the world. Gates — co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has donated billions of dollars to health research…