Pool Reports of June 15, 2020

Pool Report #1 -- Briefing added

Greetings from your print pooler...

A 2p.m. press briefing has been added, and will be followed by a 2:30p.m. roundtable on "Fighting for America's Seniors."

Your pooler has been tested this morning.

Pool Report #2 -- Lunch Lid till 2p.m.

Apologies your pooler was outside at a Conway gaggle when announcement came over....more TK from Conway.

Pool Report # 3- Conway Gaggle

WH Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway spoke to reporters briefly at about 1:15p.m. near the sticks

Policing Executive Order
Asked when POTUS will sign executive order on policing, if it would come Tuesday: Conway said he's "certainly working on that, working around the clock" but declined to give a time frame.

She then brought up recent remarks made Raychard Brooks' widow.
"I appreciate everything that she said ...I really appreciate her saying please keep the protests peaceful.
God Bless that family.

Asked if the White House will be inviting the families who have been affected by police violence.
"I will tell you that, we're very pleased a number of us have talked to members of those families over time."

Asked about POTUS's upcoming campaign rally
Noted temperature checks will be conducted, face masks and hand sanitizer will be distributed, which she described as a "recognition that there's guidelines in place that should be followed."

Asked wouldn't there be value in reviving the coronavirus task force briefings
Conway said reporters continued to have "access" task force members. "I see Dr. Fauci...interviewed pretty regularly."

Pool Report #4 -- Press Briefing Moved-- No Time Given Yet

Press briefing will be held after POTUS's roundtable, per annoucement that just came overhead. Pool gathering for event.

Pool Report 5 — Roundtable

After temperature scan, pool was escorted into Cabinet Room at 2:40pm

On hand Pence, Barr, Azar, Carson, Wilkie, Verma, Barksdale, Kellyanne Conway

POTUS starts touting recent administration efforts related to seniors...

*Announced $2M DOJ grant aimed at curbing senior fraud

*Said drug prices are going down

* touted $81M for increased inspections of nursing homes

Pool Report 6 - Pence + Barr Speak

Trump:
We now require nursing homes to report [coronavirus] cases directly to CDC...

"We have to keep all of our seniors safe, this is a very perilous time"

On COVID cases
"If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, if any."

Pence spoke shortly:
"We raised the infectious disease standards" on nursing homes in response to COVID19.

"Steady progress" towards putting coronavirus "farther and farther in the past."

Said spike in new cases was likely due to a "dramatic increase in testing."

"we're going to focus on ensuring our seniors" are protected

Barr
"We've seen a skyrocketing of fraud against elders"

touted DOJ efforts to root out fraud,

This month marks 1 year anniversary of task force to combat "transnational elder fraud" said they've cracked down on robo-call fraud

Pool Report 7 — Meeting Attendees

Barr still speaking about elder fraud...

>From WH's Judd Deere:

Today, President Donald J. Trump will participate in a roundtable discussion with various Administration officials to highlight their respective efforts to safeguard America's senior citizens.

Older Americans have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic, and President Trump has worked closely with our Nation's governors and healthcare experts to protect them. In a bi-partisan effort, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide funding for nursing home inspections, launched an initiative to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) to more than 15,000 nursing homes, and expanded testing facilities around the country through unprecedented private-public partnerships.

Last month, President Trump announced a new program to address the rising price of insulin by providing Medicare patients with new choices of Part D plans that offer insulin at an affordable and predictable cost of no more than $35 for a month's supply.

The following individuals are expected to attend:

The White House
President Donald J. Trump
Vice President Mike Pence
Mark Meadows, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff
Kellyanne Conway, Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor

Trump Administration
Attorney General Bill Barr, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
Secretary Alex Azar, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Secretary Ben Carson, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Secretary Robert Wilkie, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Administrator Seema Verma, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS
Chief Gary Barksdale, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS)

Pool Report 8 - Officials touting work on seniors

Officials are going around the table touting their respective agency's work with seniors....

DOJ- Barr:
Said he was used as "a lure" in a scam.
A website used his photo to scam seniors into thinking they were a legitimate website seeking money.

Postal Inspector's office-Barksdale:
Spoke about postal fraud. Said he partnered with DOJ, embedded postal inspectors with DOJ to bring cases forward. Touted 17 arrests, seized $650,000. Goal is to try to get money back to victims. Educational materials available online.

VA's Wilkie
Said VA developed national guidance on how to protect seniors from COVID infections. Noted that VA approval rating is up, promoting POTUS to ask reporters if we heard Wilkie.

Pool Report 9 — More from roundtable

no major news...officials continue to talk about department efforts to aid seniors

A sign with the National Elder Fraud Hotline phone number was placed behind Azar and Wilkie. (The number is 1-833-372-8311)

AZAR:
Said HHS has "pushed out more than a billion dollars" for services aiding seniors in response to covid-19.

CARSON:
"America owes a lot to our seniors"
"Proud to be part of an administration that really values" elderly.
Said CARES Act provides $3B more for HUD housing vouchers that are directed to low income families and seniors

VERMA:
Said since "Day 1" POTUS has been committed to Medicare...
"Giving our seniors more services at a lower cost"
"We are working to ensure our seniors are safe in nursing homes"...80% of nursing homes "have done pretty well" amid pandemic.

Conway:
Spoke about seniors being isolated at home, away from families, which makes them "prey" for scammers.

Conway with a message to reporters:
"Dont be guilty of incomplete coverage..
...please include this in your reporting.

Pool Report 10- Trump News

Trump asked for details about signing policing executive order:

i'd rather save it tomorrow

we're going to have some solutions

we need some great people in our police department

speaking on efforts in Congress: "maybe they can get something passed, maybe they cant"

Asked about goal:
the overall goal is we want law and order...its about justice also. its about safety.

I think this will be very comprehensive

Q:ATL Police involved shooting
I thought it was a terrible situation

To me it was very disturbing

Asked about SCOTUS ruling
They ruled and we live with their decision.

A very powerful decision

Pool Report 11 - POTUS on OK rally

POTUS was asked about FDA decision Hydrocholoroqine, he deferred to Azar...pooler will send Azar's remarks shortly

POTUS On holding Tulsa rally...

touted number of expected attendees

we're going to talk about where we're going, where we come from

we have hot spots as I said you might...we'll take care of the hot spots

said one of the reasons they chose Tulsa was because of OK Guv's work on covid

Pence aaid: "they flattened the curve" of OK

Pool Report 12 — Potus on Covid and Hydroxy

Pence: The positivity rate remains flat...most importantly our fatality rate" over a 7 day average "continues to decline."

Potus asks # of fatalities.

Pence: "Less than 400 fatalities" reported yesterday. Trump says that's 400 "too many" but not as large as past daily figures

Trump on covid cases: "we're at a low mark"

"the young people they have very strong immune systems"

Asked if US will continue to send Hydroxy to Brazil, he said US will

"I can't complain about to it," Potus said noting he took it two weeks.

Said he was unaware of reporting that FDA pulled back the drug's use for covid.

"It certainly didn't hurt me."

Pool Report 13- Trump on Bolton Book

Criticized WHO

on why he's suing Bolton to stop book release:

said it was "highly inappropriate" for Bolton to write a book.

That's highly classified information.

"Maybe he'a not telling the truth, he's been known not to tell the truth, a lot."

Trump asked Barr to weigh-in
Barr said there is a process for clearing books written by former officials for publication

Barr: we don't believe that Bolton has gone through that process...
"he hasn't completed the process"
said it was "unprecedented" that a boom would be published while POTUS still in office

Pool Report 14 - POTUS on US troops in Germany

q: On withdrawing troops from German

POTUS: "Germany as you know is...delinquent in their payments to NATO"

They owe NATO billions and they know it

Why should we be doing what we're doing if they don't pay?"

Pool Report 15 — POTUS on Seattle

On Seattle occupation :

"Seattle's big stuff, that's a major city"

"You have a governor who's a stiff"

Also spoke critically of Seattle mayor

"If they don't do the job we'll do the job"

Asked what he can do:
"We can do a lot of things"

Asked for timeframe to respond, POTUS said he continued to monitor situation, gave no timeframe

Pool Report 16- Pool escorted out

Pool escorted out at 3:48pm

Pool Report 17 — Press Briefing Cancelled

An updated guidance has been sent out.

Pool Report 17 -- More complete quotes on SCOTUS/LGBT decision & FDA

On SCOTUS LGBT decision:
POTUS: "They've ruled. I've read the decision and some people were surprised but they've ruled and we live with their decision... that's what its all about....very powerful decision actually. They have so ruled."

POTUS, asked react to the FDA's decision on Hydroxycholorquine use for covid treatment...

Trump deferred to Azar.

AZAR: "The FDA at the request of BARDA, which is an agency within HHS, withdrew an emergency use authorization of a product that we had acquired into the national stockpile by donation from Bayer of ... chloroquine that was manufactured in Pakistan and the EUA, the emergency use authorization, was restrictive for hospital use, in-patient hospital use of the product. With the FDA finding that they don't see enough data to support hospital based use for those...with the most extreme cases...they took that restriction off. They took the emergency use authorization off. At this point Hydroxycloroquine and chloroquine are just like any other approved drug in the United States. They may be used in hospitals they may be used in out patient, they may be used at home, all subject to a doctor's prescription. In fact the FDA removal of the emergency use authorization takes away what had been a significant misunderstanding by many that had made people think it could only be used in a hospitalsetting."

"If a doctor wishes to prescribe it, working with a patient, they may prescribe it for any purpose that they wish to do so."

Trump: "So it would actually un-complicates it..in a way."

Azar added: "we continue to study in outpatient settings....that data is not yet in."

Asked by Reuters' Jeff Mason-- "are you suggesting that data in the hospital setting is not something that you would take seriously?"

Azar replied: "No,that's why the FDA acted, was that they looked at the data and removed the emergency use authorization for hospital setting use"

Pool Report 18 -- Travel/Photo Lid

Travel photo lid called at 5:15p.m.

G'night,