Monday, June 1

á           President Donald Trump referred to the countryÕs mayors and governors as ÒweakÓ and ÒfoolsÓ as he told them to step up police enforcement in response to recent protests of the deaths of unarmed Black people by police. ÒYou have to dominate, if you donÕt dominate youÕre wasting your time,Ó Trump said. ÒTheyÕre going to run over you, youÕre going to look like a bunch of jerks.Ó

á           Members of the police and military fired tear gas on nonviolent protesters in Washington, D.C. so Trump could hold a photo-op with a Bible at St. JohnÕs Episcopal Church across from the White House. Church clergy reportedly said they had no idea the photo-op was planned.

á           Two Republican lawmakers used their platforms to join with TrumpÕs call for more aggressive, militarized action against the protests. Sen. Tom Cotton argued to Òsend in the militaryÓ on protestors in a New York Times op-ed, and Rep. Matt Gaetz called to Òhunt them down like we do those in the Middle East.Ó Cotton later walked back his argument, saying he meant it metaphorically. TrumpÕs stance has otherwise largely seen negative bipartisan reactions.

á           Attorney General Bill Barr was quoted in a New York Times feature floating a new conspiracy theory that foreign actors are or could disrupt mail voting with counterfeit ballots, which voting experts quickly dismissed as nonsense.

á           Trump, declaring himself a Òpresident of law and order,Ó threatened military force against protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in a speech from the White House Rose Garden. ÒIf a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents,Ó Trump warned, Òthen I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.Ó

Tuesday, June 2

á           The Trump administration completed its largest single deregulatory action by rolling back the vehicle emissions standards adopted by President Barack Obama, now requiring vehicle manufacturers to only meet a 1.5% percent annual increase in efficiency through 2026.

á           White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx warned of a Òfalse sense of securityÓ should COVID-19 cases go down this summer because, she explained, ÒÒNo country, no matter what approach that they have taken, have resulted in enough immunity to protect their population if the virus comes back in the fall."

Wednesday, June 3

á           The U.S. Department of Transportation announced plans to bar Chinese passenger flights to the U.S. starting June 16 in a pressure campaign on Beijing to allow U.S. air carriers to resume flights to China.

á           Reuters reported on how federal small business loans were mistakenly handed out twice or more as a result of technical mishaps. Sources indicated the loan processing system failed to detect when borrowers submitted an application multiple times.

á           Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he does not support TrumpÕs invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty military forces to quell civil protests, joining with other senior military leaders like General Mark Milley and General James Mattis against Trump. Mattis, for example, said, "Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, DC, sets up a conflict — a false conflict between the military and civilian society.Ó

á           The Republican National Committee announced it would proceed with a limited 2020 convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, though Trump will deliver his nomination acceptance speech elsewhere. Democrats moved their convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from mid-July to the week of August 17 because of the pandemic.

á           White House physician Sean Conley wrote Trump was being closely monitored for an irregular heartbeat while taking a two-week course of hydroxychloroquine, a drug which Trump touted as a cure for the coronavirus despite no supporting evidence.

á           Trump denied reports that he retreated to the underground bunker beneath the White House over the weekend as protests went on outside. ÒIt was a false report,Ó he said. ÒI wasnÕt down. I went down during the day, and I was there for a tiny, little, short period of time. And it was much more for an inspection. There was no problem during the day.Ó

Thursday, June 4

á           The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration for violating the civil rights of protesters when police forcefully removed them from a park near the White House with tear gas so Trump could walk to a nearby church for a photo-op. Barr defended this action, arguing it was necessary to protect officers and federal property.

á           In a party line vote, Senate Republicans authorized the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to issue subpoenas to Obama administration officials as part of an investigation into the origins of the counterintelligence investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

á           The Senate passed by unanimous consent legislation easing restrictions on emergency small business loans to avert mass layoffs during the pandemic. The House passed the bill in a 417-1 vote last week.

Friday, June 5

á           Trump ordered the U.S. military to remove about 9,500 troops from Germany, reducing troop numbers in the country to 25,000 from 34,500. This comes one week after German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Trump she would not attend the Group of 7 meeting he wanted to host.

á           The Marine Corps issued directives to remove and ban public displays of the Confederate battle flag at its installations. ÒCurrent events are a stark reminder that it is not enough for us to remove symbols that cause division,Ó Gen. David Berger said. ÒRather, we also must strive to eliminate division itself.Ó

á           Former Vice President Joe Biden secured the delegates needed to earn the Democratic presidential nomination. He said on Twitter, ÒIÕm going to spend every day fighting to earn your vote so that, together, we can win the battle for the soul of this nation.Ó

Saturday, June 6

á           No news to report.

Sunday, June 7

á           Sen. Mitt Romney marched with demonstrators toward the White House, the first Republican senator to publicly join the protests in response to police brutality against Black people. Romney shared a photograph of himself among the crowd on Twitter with the caption ÒBlack Lives Matter.Ó

á           The New York Times reported that the Trump administration has not yet spent over 75% of the $1.6 billion in American humanitarian aid for foreign victims of the coronavirus that Congress provided three months ago.

á           The Food and Drug Administration changed its policy on decontamination for certain N95 masks made in China because it determined they should not be reused.

á           Barr said he did not believe racism was a systemic problem in the U.S. police system. ÒI donÕt think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist,Ó he explained. ÒI think we have to recognize that for most of our history, our institutions were explicitly racist.Ó

á           Trump said he ordered National Guard troops to withdraw from the Washington, D.C., protests following bipartisan criticism of his threat to militarize the governmentÕs response to nationwide protests. ÒThey will be going home, but can quickly return, if needed,Ó he wrote on Twitter.