US reaches 3m confirmed Covid-19 cases as Pence pushes for schools to reopen – live

The White House coronavirus task force briefing at the US department of education has now concluded.

In one of the last questions of the briefing, Vice President Mike Pence was asked why the president threatened to cut off funding to schools that don’t reopen in a tweet this morning.

Pence replied, “What you heard from the president is just a determination to provide the kind of leadership from the federal level that says we’re going to get our kids back to school.”

But schools have said they are having trouble reopening because they do not have the money to safely welcome students back.

Another reporter pressed Pence on whether the White House believed schools should adhere to the CDC’s recommendations on social distancing between students.

Pence responded, “We just don’t want the guidance to be too tough.”

Vice President Mike Pence was pressed on whether Trump’s tweet criticizing the CDC’s guidelines on schools reopening made it easier for school officials to ignore those guidelines.

Pence responded by expressing his confidence in governors and local officials to make the best decisions on ensuring safe reopening for their schools.

The vice president said the CDC guidelines were not meant to “supplant” the judgment of state and local officials and were instead aimed at offering a “range of options” on reopening schools.

Vice President Mike Pence signaled the Trump administration may try to tie school reopenings to states receiving federal financial relief.

Pence said the White House was looking for ways to “give states a strong incentive and encouragement to get kids back to school.”

The comment comes hours after the president threatened to withhold funding from school districts that don’t reopen in the fall.

Congress has been looking at another coronavirus relief bill, which could potentially include proivsions on school reopenings.

Vice President Mike Pence was asked about the president’s tweet this morning criticizing the CDC’s “very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools.”

Pence told reporters, “We don’t want the guidance from CDC to be a reason that schools don’t open.” The vice president said Trump’s tweet was meant to convey that sentiment.

Pence added the administration was planning to work with governors and local officials as they crafted their own requirements on schools reopening.

“We really do believe that we can open these schools safely,” Pence said.

Dr Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, interestingly downplayed his agency’s recommendations on how to safely reopen schools.

Redfield emphasized different schools had diffrerent needs when it came to safely reopening, and he said the recommendations were not meant to encourage schools to remain closed.

“I want to make it very clear that what is not the intent of CDC’s guidelines is to be used as a rationale to keep schools closed,” Redfield said at the task force briefing. “It’s guidance; it’s not requirements,” Redfield later added.

Redfield’s comments come hours after Trump criticized the CDC for its “very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools.”

Education secretary Betsy DeVos insisted schools must be fully operational this fall, despite concerns about the spread of coronavirus in the classroom.

“Students can and must continue to learn full-time,” DeVos said during the White House coronavirus task force briefing at the department of education.

The eduction secretary criticized Fairfax county school district in nearby Virginia for presenting “false paradigms” between education and safety. The school district had asked parents whether they wanted to convene in-person classes for zero or two days a week.

“It’s not a matter of if schools reopen. It’s simply a matter of how. They must fully open, and they must be fully operational,” DeVos said.

At the White House coronavirus task force briefing, Dr Brett Giroir said there will be a coronavirus testing surge site set up in the Phoenix area.

The senior HHS official said the testing site would be contracted this afternoon to quickly address Phoenix’s surge in new cases.

Arizona has been reporting record levels of new cases in recent weeks, forcing the state to roll back its reopening process.

The White House coronavirus task force briefing continues at the US department of education, but the country has just hit another grim milestone in its fight against the virus.

The US has surpassed 3 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. It represents around a quarter of the world’s total cases. Johns Hopkins records that there have been 131,594 deaths among the total of 3,009,611 cases.

On Monday, Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that America’s grasp of the pandemic was “really not good” and that the country was “still knee-deep in the first wave” of coronavirus infections.

The news comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that evidence is emerging that the coronavirus is airborne, which has significant implications for how it spreads indoors, and makes wearing masks potentially even more of a priority.

You can find our dedicated live blog to the global coronavirus crisis over here:

You can also find our state-by-state breakdown of case and death numbers here:

Dr Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, has now taken the podium at the briefing.

Before beginning her analysis of new outbreaks of the virus in the US, Birx thanked the leaders of the Salt River tribe for meeting with her recently in Arizona.

Birx noted she received the mask she is wearing today from the tribe’s leaders. “Masks can be a fashion statement,” Birx said.

All of the officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, arrived at today’s briefing wearing face masks.

Echoing the president, Mike Pence pushed for the reopening of America’s schools despite lingering concerns over the spread of coronavirus in the classroom.

“It’s time for us to get our kids back to school,” Pence said during the White House coronavirus task force briefing at the US department of education.

Trump made the same argument during an event on school reopenings yesterday, and this morning, he threatened to withhold funding from schools that do not reopen.

The funding threat struck many as counterintuitive, considering a number of school districts have said they do not have the money to safely reopen.

Vice President Mike Pence is leading a White House coronavirus task force briefing at the US department of education.

The briefing comes as the US approaches 3 million confirmed cases of the virus, far more than any other country in the world.

Pence opened the briefing by emphasizing the level of coronavirus testing in the US, saying there is evidence of a flattening of the positivity rate in Arizona, Florida and Texas.

Lt Col Alexander Vindman had been seeking a promotion to the rank of colonel, and the White House was facing accusations of holding up the promotion because of Vindman’s testimony in the impeachment inquiry.

CNN reports:

Top Pentagon leaders, including Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, have insisted that Vindman is not being targeted for political reasons, but a source familiar with his decision said military officials have communicated to Vindman that the White House has sought to become involved in the promotion process.

In response, Vindman was told that that there have been discussions within the Department of Defense about sending his name forward on a ‘list of one’ or holding his name back until after the election to avoid impacting the promotions of other service members, the source said.

It is ‘absurd and frightening’ for the White House to be involved in promotions at this level, the source added.

By retiring, Vindman will clear the way for some of his Army colleagues to receive their expected promotions.

Lt Col Alexander Vindman confirmed in a tweet that he has asked to retire from the US Army after more than two decades of service.

“Today I officially requested retirement from the US Army, an organization I love. My family and I look forward to the next chapter of our lives,” Vindman said.

In his statement to CNN, Lt Col Alexander Vindman’s lawyer said the White House had put the administration official in an impossible position.

“The President of the United States attempted to force LTC Vindman to choose: Between adhering to the law or pleasing a President. Between honoring his oath or protecting his career. Between protecting his promotion or the promotion of his fellow soldiers,” lawyer David Pressman said.

“These are choices that no one in the United States should confront, especially one who has dedicated his life to serving it,” Pressman said, arguing that Vindman “did what the law compelled him to do; and for that he was bullied by the President and his proxies.”

The statement was quite the departure from Vindman’s November testimony, in which he applauded American values for allowing him to speak out and celebated his father’s decision to emigrate to the US from the Soviet Union.

“Dad, I’m sitting here today, in the US Capitol talking to our elected professionals — is proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union. Do not worry, I will be fine for telling the truth,” Vindman said at the time.

Lt Col Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the Trump impeachment inquiry, has reportedly decided to retire from the Army, citing a retaliation campaign from the White House.

CNN reports:

[Vindman] is retiring from the US Army after more than 21 years of military service because he determined that his future in the armed forces ‘will forever be limited’ due to political retaliation by the President and his allies, his lawyer told CNN Wednesday.

Vindman has endured a ‘campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation’ spearheaded by the President following his testimony in the impeachment inquiry last year, according to his attorney, Amb. David Pressman. …

Ultimately, Vindman decided to retire from the military rather than attending the National War College, which was his next planned assignment, after speaking with senior Army officials who made clear that there were forces working against his advancement within the military.

Specifically, Vindman was told by senior Army officials that he would no longer be deployable in his area of expertise, which includes Ukraine, the source familiar with the situation told CNN.

Trump fired Vindman, who was serving as the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, in February.

The move was seen as part of a pattern of demotions and firings of top administration officials who testified in the impeachment inquiry.

The supreme court is expected to release its decisions in Trump v Mazars and Trump v Vance tomorrow morning.

The cases center on whether the president’s tax returns and business records can be turned over to House committees and New York prosecutors, who have issued subpoenas for the documents.

During oral arguments in the cases, the court seemed more inclined to rule against the president in Trump v Vance, which involves the subpoenas issued by Cy Vance, the district attorney for the county of New York.

But if the court rules against Trump in that case, it does not necessarily mean the public will see the president’s tax returns anytime soon.

A winning ruling for Vance would mean Trump’s tax information would be made available to a grand jury, but that information is legally required to be kept secret.

Even if the court also sides with the House committees, the tax returns could remain secret because the House subpoenas do not explictly request them.

So it seems unlikely that the details of the president’s finances will be revealed before the November election.