Monday, May 4

· The key model for United States coronavirus deaths favored by the White House nearly doubled its prediction from 72,000 fatalities to 134,000 fatalities. Taking margin of error into account, the new prediction is a range of between 95,000 to 243,000 deaths. Dr. Christopher Murray, the director of the institute responsible for the model, said the primary reason for this projected increase was many states’ “premature relaxation of social distancing.”

· The Food and Drug Administration announced a policy change that will require manufacturers of novel coronavirus antibody tests to apply for emergency use authorization within 10 business days after their products hit the market. The new policy came after the agency had been criticized for allowing more than 100 such tests on the market without any agency review.

· The U.S. Supreme Court held its first ever telephone argument in a session broadcast live.

Tuesday, May 5

· President Donald Trump traveled to Arizona to visit a Honeywell plant to promote reopening the nation despite the fact that the majority of states have not met basic federal thresholds for testing, tracing, and a prolonged drop in cases.

· Timothy Ziemer, a disaster response official and former Navy rear admiral previously in charge of a global health directorate that was disbanded by Trump, announced his retirement, thinning the federal government’s team of disaster response experts during a pandemic.

· Vice President Mike Pence told reporters that the coronavirus task force could be disbanded within a month because “of the tremendous progress we’ve made as a country.

· Trump said his administration’s coronavirus response represents “maybe our best work.”

Wednesday, May 6

· Trump tweeted that the coronavirus task force “will continue indefinitely,” contradicting Pence’s remarks the day before.

· Trump named White House Staff Secretary Derek Lyons as the acting director of the Domestic Policy Council, succeeding Joe Grogan who announced his resignation last week.

· Sen. Kelly Loeffler removed herself from an agriculture subcommittee on commodities, risk management and trade as an attempt to demonstrate transparency after it was revealed she profited from the pandemic through her stock trades.

· Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released new rules on campus sexual assault which, among other things, allow students to confront their accusers in a more judicial-like process.

Thursday, May 7

· Trump said all White House staff would be tested every day for the coronavirus after a military aide who has had contact with the president and other staff was found to have the virus. A White House spokesperson said both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence tested negative following this potential instance of community spread.

· The Senate barely failed to pass legislation reining in Trump's ability to wage war with Iran unless authorized by Congress with a 49-44 vote, below the two-thirds majority needed to overcome a presidential veto.

· House investigators found a glaring hole in early U.S. attempts at coronavirus spread when they discovered U.S. security officials, following the state department’s screening requirements on March 3, relied on their foreign security counterparts to conduct the screenings.

· After a lengthy delay, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy named the Republican members of the House coronavirus oversight committee: Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jackie Walorski and Mark Green.

· The Justice Department moved to dismiss charges against Michael Flynn to which he pled guilty in 2017; namely that he lied about his contacts with a Russian diplomat. The New York Times described the motion, which must be approved by the judge in the case, as setting “a disturbing precedent” leading Democrats to accuse the administration of “further politicizing the Justice Department.”

· A unanimous Supreme Court overturned the convictions of Bridget Kelly and Willliam Baroni, former allies of then-New Jersey governor Chris Christie, in the “Bridgegate” case in which the participated in a plot to back up traffic on the George Washington bridge to punish a political rival.

Friday, May 8

· The Labor Department said more than 20.5 million people lost their jobs in April, raising the unemployment rate to about 15%, a level unseen since the Great Depression. By contrast, in February the unemployment rate was at 3.5%.

· The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for an at-home saliva collection kit developed by a Rutgers University laboratory to test for the coronavirus.

· The House coronavirus oversight committee identified five large public companies that applied for and accepted small business loans and asked them to return the funds, which are meant for small businesses struggling to keep up financially during the pandemic, by next week.

· Katie Miller, a spokesperson for Pence, tested positive for coronavirus. In addition to frequent contact with Pence, Miller is married to top White House aide and senior advisor Stephen Miller.

· Sens. Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey released the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act, which proposes to dramatically expand federal coronavirus relief with $2,000 per month to individuals who make less than $120,000, $4,000 to married couples who file taxes jointly and an additional $2,000 for each child up to three. The checks would be sent monthly as long as the threat of coronavirus spread is active and for three months afterward.

· A federal investigative office found “reasonable grounds to believe” Dr. Rick Bright, a whistle-blower who challenged the Trump administration’s coronavirus response, was improperly ousted from a government research agency combating the coronavirus and should be reinstated.

Saturday, May 9

· The FDA approved the first antigen test, developed by the Quidel Corporation, to rapidly detect whether a person has been infected by the coronavirus.

Sunday, May 10

· The Navajo Nation reported to the federal government that it has more coronavirus cases per capita than any state.