Jan 4, 2018

McConnell endorses Trump's scorched earth words for Bannon

Erica Pandey

McConnell at the U.S. Capitol. Photo: Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call

Asked about Steve Bannon's shocking claims in Michael Wolff's new book, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he seconds Trump's statement from Wednesday.

"I'd like to associate myself with what the president had to say about Steve Bannon yesterday."

The Trump quote: "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind."

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

U.S. coronavirus updates: Death toll tops 5,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 5,100 people in the United States, as more state governors issued stay-at-home orders Wednesday to curb the spread. Over 216,000 people are now infected and more than 8,500 others have recovered.

The state of play: Trump administration officials are anonymously sounding the alarm that America's emergency stockpile of personal protective equipment is running dangerously low, the Washington Post reports.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 46 mins ago - Health
Rebecca Falconer

Trump admin won't reopen ACA enrollment for uninsured amid outbreak

President Trump speaks while flanked by Vice President Mike Pence during the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House on Tuesday. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Trump administration has decided not to reopen enrollment to uninsured Americans for the Affordable Care Act's Healthcare.gov marketplaces, an official confirmed to Axios Wednesday.

Driving the news: President Trump said last week he was considering the move in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, notes Politico, which first reported the news.

Go deeperArrow59 mins ago - Health
Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 p.m. ET: 937,091 — Total deaths: 47,231 — Total recoveries: 193,764 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 ET: 216,515, — Total deaths: 5,119 — Total recoveries: 8,593 — Map.
  3. Business updates: Small businesses are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus job crisis.
  4. World updates: Spain’s confirmed cases surpassed 100,000, and the nation saw its biggest daily death toll so far. More than 500 people were reported dead within the last 24 hours in the U.K., per Johns Hopkins.
  5. State updates: Florida and Pennsylvania are the latest states to issue stay-at-home orders — Michigan has more than 9,000 confirmed cases, an increase of 1,200 and 78 new deaths in 24 hours.
  6. Stock market updates: Stocks closed more than 4% lower on Wednesday, continuing a volatile stretch for the stock market amid the coronavirus outbreak.
  7. 1 future thing: Shifts to telemedicine, at-home diagnostics, and drone delivery are all likely lasting consequences from this pandemic.
  8. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy