The FDA announced Sunday it will grant an emergency use authorization (EUA) of convalescent plasma as a treatment for the coronavirus, one day after President Trump accused the agency of slow-walking the development of vaccines and therapeutics to hurt him politically.
The state of play: The authorization for plasma, which is safe but not yet proven to work on COVID-19, had been on hold after federal health officials intervened with the FDA last week and argued that the current data on the effectiveness of the treatment was too weak, the New York Times reported.
In his new book — soon to make the Fox News/opinion circuit — former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page details his 2016 trip to Russia to deliver a commencement speech at the New Economic School (NES), which later became a subject of keen interest to the FBI.
Between the lines: On Tuesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee released the final volume of its Russia report, which revealed Page “was likely a subject of interest to Russian officials during the 2016 election, given that he was the only member of the Trump Campaign's foreign policy advisory team publicly identified as a Russia expert.”
This week's Republican National Conventionwill be The Trump Show from start to finish, aiming for ratings-juicing stunts, attention-grabbing speeches from MAGA stars, and executive power as performance art, people familiar with the plans tell Axios.
What to expect: "Think of each night like an episode," says one source. "And what would an episode be without an appearance from the star?"
Senior health officials in the Trump administration were taken aback last Monday when the president's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, accused them of being part of the "Deep State" during a meeting that was supposed to be about COVID-19 and the Strategic National Stockpile.
Why it matters: Five days after Navarro's private comments toward the FDA, the president echoed Navarro's sentiments with a pair of Saturday morning tweets and tagged Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration.
Former FBI director James Comey argued on Sunday that the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on 2016 Russian interference "blows up" President Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr's claims that the FBI's Russia investigation was unjustified and a "hoax."
Why it matters: The 966-page bipartisan report, which goes into more detail than the Mueller report, found that Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort passed sensitive internal polling data and strategy to a Russian intelligence officer who may have been involved in the hacking of Democratic emails.
Twitter flagged a tweet by President Trump on Sunday that claimed, without evidence, that mail drop boxes are a "voter security disaster" and are "not Covid sanitized."
Driving the news: "We placed a public interest notice on this Tweet for violating our Civic Integrity Policy for making misleading health claims that could potentially dissuade people from participation in voting," Twitter said in a statement.
Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.) told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that the panel passed the fifth and final volume of its report on Russian interference in the 2016 election with a 14 to 1 vote.
Why it matters: It underscores the bipartisan nature of the explosive report, which found that Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, passed sensitive polling data and campaign strategy to a Russian intelligence officer who may have been involved in the hacking of Democratic emails.
Joe Biden has not received a coronavirus test, his deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.
Why it matters: Bedingfield said Biden has not had the virus, but she did not clarify how that was determined without a test. Participants in Democratic National Convention events in Wilmington, Delaware, were required to take COVID-19 tests for three consecutive days, according to BuzzFeed News.
The Trump campaign on Sunday released the lineup of speakers slated to appear at the Republican National Convention this week.
The big picture: The reworked RNC will be a four-night spectacle including still-under-wraps venues, a 10pm "nightly surprise," and guests and themes playing to "the forgotten men and women of America," campaign officials tell Axios. Trump plans to speak every night and will deliver his acceptance speech from the South Lawn of the White House.
Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller insisted on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that overall, President Trump has "a very good track record of hiring excellent people."
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told "Fox News Sunday" that the U.S. "can't simply blame China as a way to get our country out of this pandemic and the recession and the chaos that's resulted from President Trump's failed response."
Why it matters: Coons was defending Joe Biden for not focusing on the rise of China and its abuses this past week during the Democratic National Convention, claiming that Biden has frequently addressed China on the campaign trail.
Joe Biden gained ground with skeptical Democrats and a key slice of independents during the Democratic National Convention, a SurveyMonkey poll for Axios finds.
Why it matters: It’s so important for Biden to actually turn out Democrats. And the intensity of Trump voters is still stronger than Biden voters.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that "of course" Democrats would accept the results of the 2020 election if President Trump defeats Joe Biden.
Why it matters: Trump has refused to say whether he would accept the results of the election if he loses — especially with the rise of mail-in voting, which he has baselessly claimed will lead to a "rigged" election. His rhetoric has prompted concerns that there will not be a peaceful transition of power.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that — despite President Trump's claims to the contrary — his department has no authority to send law enforcement agents to polling stations on Election Day.
Why it matters: Trump told Fox News Friday there would be "sheriffs, and we're going to have law enforcement, and we're going to have, hopefully, U.S. attorneys, and we're going to have everybody, and attorney generals" at polling locations. Experts and secretaries of state have said sending federal law enforcement or any other attempts to intimidate voters would be unlawful.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said he applauds President Trump's accusation that the "deep state, or whoever" at the FDA is making it harder for drug companies to develop coronavirus treatments and vaccines in order to hurt him politically.
Why it matters: There is no evidence that the agency is purposely working to undermine Trump ahead of the election by slowing progress on life-saving virus treatments.
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) announced Saturday he is quarantining after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The big picture: Meuser is among at least a dozen members of the House to test positive for the virus, according to NPR. At least two members of the Senate — Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) — have also been infected. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last month that she would require face coverings on the floor of the House after Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) tested positive.
President Trump on Saturday sought to downplay comments made by his sister Maryanne Trump Barry in audio leaked to the Washington Post that he has "no principles," is prone to "lying" and "you can’t trust him."
Why it matters: Maryanne Trump Barry has never publicly criticized the president on his policies. But, according to 15 hours of secretive recordings made by their niece Mary Trump, the retired federal judge said of his immigration policies in 2018: "It's the phoniness of it all. It's the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel."
Federal authorities intervened after clashes between armed far-right groups, some with "ties to fascist" organizations, and anti-racism protesters near the Justice Center in downtown Portland, Oregon, saw rocks, mace and paint balls used, per the Oregonian.
Of note: Portland Police officers "remained at a distance ... even as people beat others with sticks, and at least two right-wing activists brandished handguns," the Washington Post reports. The police blamed limited resources in a statement on "why the events downtown were not declared a riot and why police did not intervene."
Protesters gathered Saturday at the scene where Trayford Pellerin was fatally shot by Lafayette officers the previous night to demand justice, as Louisiana state police announced an investigation into the 31-year-old Black man's death, per the Advocate.
Why it matters: The May 25 death in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis has shone a spotlight on disproportionate officer-involved killings of Black people and ignited widespread protests across the U.S. and the world.
