Monday, March 9

á           United States military leaders conducted a review to examine how U.S. forces support local troops in Iraq and Syria following the deaths of two Marine Special Ops troops in northern Iraq Sunday.

á           Multiple federal government officials put themselves into self-isolation following potential exposure to the novel coronavirus, including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Reps. Julia Brownley of California, Doug Collins of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida.

Tuesday, March 10

á           Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden cancelled big primary-night campaign events in Cleveland, Ohio, due to coronavirus concerns. Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence said cancelling President Donald TrumpÕs rallies would be decided on a Òa day-to-day basis.Ó

Wednesday, March 11

á           In a 10-minute oval office speech, Trump acknowledged the seriousness of the coronavirus for the first time, after previously dismissing the pandemic as a Democratic hoax and comparing it to the everyday flu. He called it a Òforeign virus,Ó blamed Europe and China for bringing it to the U.S., minimized the damage it has wrought in the U.S. and praised his administrationÕs response to the outbreak. ÒThis is just a temporary moment of time that we will overcome as a nation and as a world,Ó he said.

á           Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin recommended a special provision for the Internal Revenue Service to delay its tax deadline without penalty or interest for taxpayers in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

á           Senate Republicans blocked a Democrat-backed bill that would have guaranteed 14 days paid sick leave for workers affected by the coronavirus outbreak from moving forward.

Thursday, March 12

á           A federal judge ordered the release of former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who leaked military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks in 2010. Manning, who attempted suicide on Wednesday, was jailed last year for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange.

á           The U.S., with support from the British military, conducted airstrikes on five Kataib Hezbollah militia targets in southern Iraq in retaliation for a rocket attack on Wednesday that killed two Americans and a British soldier.

á           Richard Grenell, acting director of national intelligence, imposed a hiring freeze in the agency and ordered a review of personnel. The New York Times reported, ÒSome current and former officials said they saw the effort as an attempt to oust intelligence officers who disagreed politically with Mr. Trump.Ó

á           The Federal Reserve announced that it would infuse about $1.5 trillion into short-term money markets to ease the pressure of the coronavirus fallout on the economy. Critics like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described this as a gigantic subsidy for Wall Street. Supporters of the move highlight the fact that the money is not a handout but short-term, collateralized loans.

Friday, March 13

á           Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus outbreak.

á           After heavy criticism for its lackluster response to the coronavirus outbreak so far, the White House said it would develop drive-through testing centers, start a website to provide Americans with testing information, and work out private partnerships to get test kits to the market more quickly.

Saturday, March 14

á           The House voted 363-40 to pass a coronavirus relief package including paid sick leave, free virus testing for uninsured people, family and medical leave programs, improved unemployment benefits, food aid and federal funds for Medicaid. The 40 votes against the bill were all Republicans.

Sunday, March 15

á           Biden and Sanders held their first one-on-one debate in the Democratic presidential primary race. The debate was moved from Phoenix to Washington, D.C. and held without a live audience due to coronavirus concerns. Highlights include Biden committing to a female vice president and Sanders slamming Biden on his history of support for the federal bankruptcy bill, the Defense of Marriage Act and measures cutting social support programs.