Tipsheet: Democrats accused of double standard on Biden, Kavanaugh

View in your browser     Democrats accused of double standard on Biden, Kavanaugh BY JONATHAN EASLEY   Democrats and the news media are being accused of a double standard in how they’ve addressed allegations of sexual assault against former Vice President Joe Biden and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Top Democrats who were on the front lines demanding justice for Christine Blasey Ford during the Kavanaugh hearings have rushed to defend Biden, saying they do not believe the allegations made against him by Tara Reade. Read the full story here     GOP divided over state aid during coronavirus pandemic BY JORDAIN CARNEY Republicans are divided over how to handle aid for state and local governments hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Read the full story here     White House blocks Fauci from testifying before Congress BY MIKE LILLIS AND MORGAN CHALFANT   House Democrats seeking Anthony Fauci's testimony on the coronavirus crisis have been rebuffed by the White House, which is blocking the nation’s top infectious disease expert from appearing next week on Capitol Hill. Read the full story here     Trump seeks to replace HHS watchdog who reported hospital shortages BY TAL AXELROD   The White House on Friday announced President Trump’s new pick to serve as the Department of Health and Human Services’s (HHS) inspector general after the president excoriated the official currently serving as the agency’s watchdog. Read the full story here       McConnell's Senate agenda for next week focuses on nominees and pandemic BY ALEXANDER BOLTON   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office has outlined a busy Senate schedule for next week that is focused on combatting the coronavirus pandemic and confirming several of President Trump’s stalled nominees. Read the full story here     Biden asks secretary of Senate to locate Tara Reade complaint BY JONATHAN EASLEY    Former Vice President Joe Biden sent a letter to the secretary of the Senate on Friday asking her to help locate a possible harassment complaint filed by Tara Reade, a former aide to the then-senator who claims he sexually assaulted her in 1993. Read the full story here     Trump hits 49 percent approval rating in Gallup poll BY MAX GREENWOOD   President Trump’s job approval soared to 49 percent in a new Gallup poll released Thursday. Read the full story here     Kim Jong Un makes first public appearance in 20 days amid speculation over health BY TAL AXELROD   North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared in public for the first time in 20 days Friday amid speculation over the strongman’s health. Read the full story here     Trump taps new ambassador to Ukraine BY TAL AXELROD   President Trump announced his nominee to serve as ambassador to Ukraine after the Senate’s impeachment trial thrust the relationship between Washington and Kyiv into the spotlight. Read the full story here     FDA to authorize emergency use of new coronavirus treatment BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL   The Trump administration is fast-tracking authorization of the drug remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19. Read the full story here     What American life will look like after the coronavirus crisis ends BY KRISTIN TATE   OPINION | Our norms of social interaction are changing, even beyond wearing masks and gloves when venturing to the supermarket. Customary hand shaking may become a thing of the past. A recent survey revealed that 31 percent of the public said they do not plan to shake hands with people after the pandemic has passed. The elbow bump may be here to stay. Read the full story here     Michael Flynn case places both FBI integrity and civil liberty on the line BY ALAN DERSHOWITZ   OPINION | Flynn has pleaded guilty and is now seeking to withdraw that plea. The judge in his case should allow him to do so, based on the new information that should have been disclosed before Flynn made the decision to plead guilty. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Trump uses White House events to project return to normalcy while relying on testing that public lacks BY DAVID NAKAMURA At the White House this week, President Trump sat less than six feet from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in the Oval Office. He invited small-business owners to crowd behind the Resolute Desk for a photo shoot. His vice president toured a medical research center without a face mask in defiance of its policy. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Fearing political peril, Republicans edge away from Trump on pandemic response BY CATIE EDMONSON AND REBECCA R. RUIZ   Moderate Republicans in competitive districts are navigating a careful balance in addressing the coronavirus crisis, eager to put some distance between themselves and a president whose response has been criticized. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: NBCUniversal weighs significant layoffs at media, entertainment units BY JOE FLINT AND LILLIAN RIZZO Comcast Corp. ’s NBCUniversal is reviewing operations across its portfolio of media and entertainment properties as part of a cost-cutting effort that could result in a significant reduction of staff, people familiar with the matter said. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Michigan militia puts armed protest in the spotlight BY SARAH BURNETT Gun-carrying protesters have been a common sight at some demonstrations calling for coronavirus-related restrictions to be lifted. But an armed militia’s involvement in an angry protest in the Michigan statehouse Thursday marked an escalation that drew condemnation and shone a spotlight on the practice of bringing weapons to protest. Read the full story here     Reuters: US coronavirus stimulus went to some healthcare providers facing criminal inquiries BY SARAH N. LYNCH AND MARISA TAYLOR   Eager to bolster the healthcare system during the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. government last month sped $30 billion in stimulus payments to most healthcare providers that billed Medicare last year. That speed resulted in taxpayers’ money flowing to some companies and people facing civil or criminal fraud investigations, according to defense lawyers and others representing more than a dozen firms and people facing such inquiries. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet   You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2020 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

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