Nov 8, 2017 - Politics & Policy

Trump aide Keith Schiller testified on Russia probe

Keith Schiller wrangles the press pool in the Oval Office in May. Photo: Andrew Harnik / AP

The N.Y. Times' Maggie Haberman once called longtime aide Keith Schiller "the ultimate emotional binky for Trump."

Why it matters: Schiller's closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee yesterday was one of the most vivid signs yet of how deeply the Russia investigations are penetrating the president's inner circle.

The details:

  • Schiller was Trump's bodyguard in New York and became White House director of Oval Office operations, but left in September.
  • Per CNN, Schiller yesterday denied "the salacious claims about Trump's 2013 trip to Moscow that appeared in the opposition research Russia dossier about Trump."
  • "Schiller ... [told] lawmakers repeatedly that he could not recall or was not aware a number of potential Russia connections with Trump associates."
  • Why he matters, from Politico's Annie Karni: "When friends and advisers outside the West Wing wanted to share a news article, gossip or advice with ... Trump, they would be advised to 'send it to Keith, he'll get it to me.'"
  • Schiller knows "how to manage the president's moods, his diet, what triggers him and what soothes him."

Go deeper

Marisa Fernandez
17 mins ago - Health

Los Angeles and San Diego public schools will be online only this fall

Alhambra Unified School District. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Public schools in Los Angeles and San Diego, the two largest public school districts in California, will not be sending children back to campuses in the fall and will instead administer online classes only due to concerns over the ongoing threat of the coronavirus.

Why it matters: The two districts, which together enroll about 825,000 students, are the largest in the country thus far to announce that they will not return to in-person learning in the fall, even as the Trump administration aggressively pushes for schools to do so.

This story is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

Axios
Updated 28 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 12,984,811 — Total deaths: 570,375 — Total recoveries — 7,154,492 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 3,327,388— Total deaths: 135,379 — Total recoveries: 1,006,326 — Total tested: 40,282,176 — Map.
  3. World: WHO head: There will be no return to the "old normal" for the foreseeable future — Hong Kong Disneyland closing due to surge.
  4. States: Cuomo says New York will use formula to determine if reopening schools is safe.
  5. Politics: Mick Mulvaney: "We still have a testing problem in this country."
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Marisa Fernandez
54 mins ago - Health

Cuomo: New York will use formula to determine if it's safe to reopen schools

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that schools will only reopen if they meet scientific criteria that show the coronavirus is under control in their region, including a daily infection rate of below 5% over a 14-day average. "We're not going to use our children as guinea pigs," he added.

The big picture: Cuomo's insistence that New York will rely on data to decide whether to reopen schools comes as President Trump and his administration continue an aggressive push to get kids back in the classroom as part of their efforts to juice the economy.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow