The White House looks to wrap things up with the coronavirus task force. Meanwhile, President Trump vetoes a war powers resolution on Iran. Finally, Michael Flynn is off the hook. Here are some of the biggest stories for the Trump White House this past week.
The White House said it is planning to disband the coronavirus task force by late May.
Vice President Mike Pence told reporters off camera that the United States would be in “a very different place” by the end of May and that a transition plan is being discussed with FEMA. The task force was created in March and helped launch the profiles of Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, who have been leading and coordinating the White House’s response to the pandemic.
Next, President Trump vetoed a war powers resolution with respect to Iran.
Trump called out the Democrats for getting the resolution to his desk, despite it being approved on a bipartisan basis, saying, “This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on Nov. 3 by dividing the Republican Party. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands.”
The Senate attempted to override Trump’s veto, but failed to reach the two-thirds majority on a 49-44 vote.
Finally, the Justice Department dropped its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, prompting the president to rejoice.
“So I’m very happy for General Flynn,” Trump said to reporters. “He was a great warrior, and he still is a great warrior. Now, in my book, he’s an even greater warrior. What happened to him should never happen again”
Flynn originally pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a Russian diplomat. However, due to FBI records being released in late April 2020, exculpatory evidence surfaced that helped Flynn’s case which was concealed from the defense team where now-fired agent Peter Strzok prevented the FBI from closing its investigation into Flynn after uncovering “no derogatory information.”
