Monday, May 25

á           House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy rescinded his endorsement of Republican congressional candidate Ted Howze following the discovery of dozens of offensive and derogatory posts Howze made on social media mocking a Parkland school shooting survivor, accusing prominent Democrats of murder and calling the Prophet Muhammad a rapist and pedophile.

á           Immigration and Customers Enforcement confirmed the second known migrant to die in United States custody after contracting the novel coronavirus, Guatemalan man Santiago Baten-Oxlag.

Tuesday, May 26

á           The Justice Department dropped its investigations into the profitable stock trades made by Sens. Kelly Loeffler, Dianne Feinstein and Jim Inhofe after the senators received private briefings on the coronavirus prior to the pandemic crashing the market.

á           Glenn Fine, who was ousted last month as the Pentagon's acting watchdog by President Donald Trump, announced his resignation from the Defense Department inspector generalÕs office in the latest of a series of departures across the executive branch.

á           The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a request from the Trump administration to stop an Ohio order that prisoners be moved or released due to coronavirus.

Wednesday, May 27

á           Federal officials altered or hid public health data tracking the coronavirus' spread, according to a Politico report. For instance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blended diagnostic and antibody tests to boost the nation's overall testing numbers.

á           Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the Trump administration no longer considers Hong Kong autonomous from China.

á           The House overwhelmingly approved the Uighur Human Rights Act, which calls for sanctions on Chinese officials deemed responsible for the oppression of Uighur Muslims.

Thursday, May 28

á           In observance of 100,000 official American coronavirus deaths, President Donald Trump offered his first public expression of sympathy by writing on Twitter, ÒTo all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!Ó

á           In a strike against social media companies, Trump signed an executive order calling on agencies to examine long-standing legal protections that safeguard online companies from litigation like libel suits.

á           The House pulled a bill to reauthorize key parts of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act following an unusual bipartisan revolt from Trump, Republicans and progressive Democrats.

á           Sen. Tim Kaine announced he and his wife tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. ÒThere is still too much uncertainty over what protection antibodies may actually provide,Ó Kaine said. ÒSo we will keep following CDC guidelines — hand-washing, mask wearing, social distancing. We encourage others to do so as well.Ó

á           Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she has never been tested for the coronavirus. ÒFor a while there were a scarcity of tests,Ó Pelosi explained to reporters. ÒWe didnÕt want to be first in line, when so many people who had symptoms and had justifications for it.Ó

Friday, May 29

á           Trump said the U.S. would halt funding for the World Health Organization and pull the nation out of the agency. The U.S. has already had a WHO funding freeze since April. Trump accused WHO of protecting China by not making reforms to prevent coronavirus spread. He said the U.S. would be Òredirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs.Ó

á           Sen. Bob Casey tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. ÒThis positive test means that I likely had COVID-19 at some point over the last several months and have since developed an antibody response to the virus,Ó Casey said.

á           Under internal and Congressional pressure, the U.S. Army withdrew the promotion of Col. Bradley Moses, a senior Special Forces officer involved in the fatal Oct. 4, 2017, ambush in Niger that resulted in the deaths of four Americans.

á           Rep. Val Demings, in a Washington Post op-ed, urged a nationwide review of law enforcement practices following the police killing of George Floyd. Demings, a former Orlando police chief, called police violence a Òstain on our country.Ó

á           The Supreme Court turned down a request from a California church to block enforcement of state restrictions on attendance at religious services in a 5-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the courtÕs liberal minority to tilt the decision in its favor.

á           Trump called for military violence against U.S. citizens by threatening to order the National Guard to shoot protestors in Minnesota who appear to be looting. The call was so extraordinary that Twitter, which is notoriously laissez faire in the content it allows, put a warning over the post for Òglorifying violence.Ó

Saturday, May 30

á           Rep. Joyce Beatty, a 70-year-old black congresswoman, was pepper sprayed by police in Columbus, Ohio, during afternoon protests over the death of George Floyd.

á           Trump said the Secret Service was prepared to sic the Òmost vicious dogsÓ and Òominous weaponsÓ on protesters outside the White House gates.

á           NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken launched into orbit in a SpaceX rocket and capsule, the first time a private company has sent astronauts into space.

Sunday, May 31

á           Former Vice President Joe Biden visited a George Floyd protest site in Wilmington, Delaware. ÒWe are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us,Ó Biden wrote later on social media accompanying an image of himself at the protest. ÒWe are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. We are a nation exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us.Ó

á           White House National Security Advisor Robert OÕBrien repeatedly slammed WHO as ÒcorruptÓ without further elaboration in defense of the U.S.Õs decision to withdraw from the agency. OÕBrien suggested the U.S. might later rejoin WHO if it enacted reforms and ended the Òcorruption and relianceÓ on China.

á           Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar addressed the protests in Minneapolis following the police killing of George Floyd, explaining the line between Òextreme aggressionÓ confronting injustice and damaging property. She attributed much of the destruction to people Ònot interested in protecting black lives É who exploited the pain that communities are feeling and ignite violence.Ó

á           Trump said the U.S. government would be Òdesignating ANTIFA as a Terrorist OrganizationÓ despite having no apparent legal authority to do so and the fact that Òantifa,Ó short for Òanti-fascist,Ó is an ideological umbrella term for leftist activists and not an organization at all.