House Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeated a phrase throughout her update this morning on the latest federal response to the coronavirus: "Testing, testing, testing."
The speaker said testing is "so very important, to take inventory, to understand the epidemiological spread of the virus, and also to meet the needs of the people affected."
She confirmed that Democrats and Republicans are working closely to pass a bill today that would provide additional protections, and free testing, following an $8.3 billion aid package last week. "No one will say I can't afford it," she said.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act would ensure free coronavirus testing, paid emergency sick leave, expanded unemployment insurance, increased protections for health care workers on the frontline, and food security initiative for children while schools are closed.
The bill is currently being debated in the House, but the clock is ticking as lawmakers consider whether they should leave the capital out of an abundance of caution.
When asked if House Democrats would stick around if a deal was not made within the next two days, Pelosi insisted lawmakers would get it done.
"We don't need 48 hours. We need to make a decision to help families now," she said.
"If people have to stay home, we have to stay home, but we don't want people to panic," Pelosi added but held off from outlining further plans to address the virus.
"We're here to pass a bill. When we pass a bill, we'll make a judgment about what comes next," she said.
As an addendum to her update on the coronavirus response, the speaker chimed in on the Democratic primary race.
"In case you were going to ask, no, I don't think Bernie Sanders should get out of the race. I'm a grassroots person. I'm chair of the California Democratic Party. I know the enthusiasm of supporters of candidates, and they want to see it play out."
Maintaining diplomatic momentum after the historic meeting Friday between the North Korean leader Kim Jung-un and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea will likely fall on the shoulders of President Trump, who will have his own summit with Kim next month.
Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci tells Cheddar that, since he was fired last year, he has spoken to President Trump about a dozen times to talk about both political and personal issues.
Anthony Scaramucci, who only lasted 11 days as the White House Communications Director, tells Cheddar one of his biggest accomplishments last year was letting cameras back into White House briefings. That, and hiring a hair and makeup artist.
The former White House communications director gave a profane interview to The New Yorker that essentially led to his firing. "I got bagged inappropriately," Anthony Scaramucci told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin.
The former White House Communications Director, who was fired in after a brief 11-day tenure last year, tells Cheddar that both the Deputy Attorney General and Special Counsel Robert Mueller are fair and principled men.
Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House Communications Director, told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin that the fall out around Dr. Ronny Jackson's nomination for Secretary of Veteran's Affairs is purely partisan politics.
Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci said the President should "get out more," because his direct appeals to his base via on-air interviews is what they love about him. His comments came after Trump gave a wide-ranging interview to Fox News, in which he admitted, after previous denials, that his personal attorney Michael Cohen dealt with adult film actress Stormy Daniels for him.
Since Russia banned the encrypted messaging service last week, Google and Amazon have also been dragged into the fight. This comes at a time when Telegram is considering an ICO and has already raised a total of $1.7 billion, making it the biggest potential coin offering in history.
Weeks after President Trump took office, he issued the first travel ban restricting entry into the U.S. for people from some majority-Muslim countries. Since then, after backlash and appeals, Trump has put out two more versions of the directive and now the Supreme Court is deciding whether or not the ban is Constitutional.
More and more politicians are throwing their weight behind legalizing marijuana, now seeing it as more of a "political opportunity" than a liability. That, in part, is driven by pressure from voters, says Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for Marijuana Laws.
