monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

The Coronavirus Has Not Halted Trump’s Power Grab

Both the president and his party are committed to a long-term project of impunity from both the law and the electorate.

...Although the pestilence that has killed more than 10,000 Americans and shut down the U.S. economy is understandably dominating the headlines, the Trump administration’s efforts to erode democracy and the rule of law have not subsided. The authoritarianization of the federal government has hampered its response to the pandemic, squandering scarce resources on shoring up the president’s lies and pursuing his political interests at the public’s expense. This is the predictable result of an authoritarian logic in which the preservation of the regime takes precedence over the safety of its own citizens, because the leader is the incontestable expression of popular will.

...Shortly after the passage of the $2 trillion stimulus package in late March, Trump declared his intention to not comply with its oversight provisions. Then, on Friday, he appointed a White House attorney, Brian Miller, to oversee the $500 billion fund set aside for stabilizing large corporations. Although Miller has previously worked as a government watchdog, his most recent job was as part of the legal team defending Trump from impeachment. On Tuesday, Trump also fired Glenn Fine, the lead watchdog overseeing a panel of inspectors general who are in turn overseeing the overall stimulus package.

...The president and the institutional GOP are executing parallel, complementary campaigns: Trump is attempting to undermine the rule of law for personal and political gain; keeping him in office is crucial to the Republican Party’s larger goal of locking its opponents out of power by narrowing, restricting, or altering the franchise to insulate the party from a changing electorate....

All Things Considered
@npratc
· 7h
The federal government will end funding for coronavirus testing sites on Friday. While some sites will transition to being state-managed, others will close as a result. This as criticism continues that not enough testing is available.
https://n.pr/2y35sNu

You seem to have come up with some statistic nobody else is using which had no obvious explanation

Tucked into the recent recovery bill was a provision granting the Federal Reserve the right to set up a $450 billion bailout plan without following key provisions of the federal open meetings law, including announcing its meetings or keeping most records about them, according to a POLITICO review of the legislation.

The provision, the existence of which has not been previously reported, further calls into question the transparency and oversight for the biggest bailout law ever passed by Congress. President Donald Trump has indicated he does not plan to comply with another part of the new law intended to boost Congress’ oversight powers of the bailout funds. And earlier this week, Trump dismissed the government official chosen as the chief watchdog for the stimulus package.

The changes at the central bank – which appear to have been inserted into the 880-page bill by sympathetic senators during the scramble to get it approved -- would address a complaint that the Fed faced during the 2008 financial crisis, when board members couldn’t easily hold group conversations to address the fast-moving economic turmoil.

The provision dispenses with a longstanding accountability rule that the board has to give at least one day’s notice before holding a meeting. Experts say the change could lead to key information about the $450 billion bailout fund, such as which firms might benefit from the program, remaining inaccessible long after the bailout is over...

Trump Is Pushing a False Argument on Vote-by-Mail Fraud. Here Are the Facts.
As the coronavirus pandemic accelerates a national trend toward voting by mail, experts say it can be conducted safely, despite Republican claims of corruption.

It seems when [Trump's] not battling the pandemic, he is waging war on voting reform. “They have to be very careful because you know the things with bundling and all of the things that are happening with votes by mail where thousands of votes are gathered and I’m not going to say which party does it, but thousands of votes are gathered and they come in and they’re dumped in a location and then all of a sudden you lose elections that you think you’re going to win. I won’t stand for it,” Trump said. As only Trump can.