US executive branch text over image of White House

This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases.

POTUS’ Schedule*

*The US President (POTUS) and Vice President’s (VPOTUS) daily schedules are subject to change.

2:35 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT departs Washington, D.C., en route to Morristown, NJ

3:25 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT arrives at Morristown Municipal Airport

3:35 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT departs Morristown, NJ, en route to Bedminster, NJ

5:00 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks to the City of New York Police Benevolent Association | Bedminster, NJ

VPOTUS’ Schedule*

8:30 a.m. EDT – THE VICE PRESIDENT participates in a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison | The Vice President’s Residence

11:00 a.m. EDT – THE VICE PRESIDENT leads a White House Coronavirus Task Force meeting | White House Situation Room

3:30 p.m. EDT – THE VICE PRESIDENT participates in a phone call with the President of Colombia | The Vice President’s West Wing Office

Looking Ahead:  On Saturday, August 15, Vice President Mike Pence will travel to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, to meet with Governor Jim Justice on efforts to combat COVID-19 and safely reopening West Virginia.  He will return to Washington, D.C., later that day.

Recap of Thursday, August 13, 2020

Note: All bold hyperlinks spotlight COVID-19 and reopening developments.

The White House

  • Remarks by President Trump Announcing the Normalization of Relations Between Israel and the United Arab Emirates
  • Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Has Secured a Historic Deal Between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to Advance Peace and Prosperity In the Region
  • Joint Statement of the United States, the State of Israel, and the United Arab Emirates
  • Press Briefing by Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany | 8/13/2020
  • Remarks by President Trump in Press Briefing | August 13, 2020
  • Text of a Notice on the Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Export Control Regulations
  • Text of a Letter to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate
  • Nominations: One Nomination Sent to the Senate
  • Remarks by President Trump in Press Briefing | August 12, 2020

Department of Defense (DOD)

  • Article: SOUTHCOM Chief | Venezuela’s Maduro at Center of ‘Vicious Circle of Threats’
  • Article: DOD Focuses on Minimizing Cyber Threats to Department, Contractors
  • Article: Defense Officials Brief on Opening DODEA Schools During COVID-19
  • Article: DOD Tech Chief Lays Out Vision for U.S. Technology Leadership
  • Contracts for August 13, 2020

Department of State

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on travel to Vienna, Austria; and Warsaw, Poland from August 14-15.  Looking ahead, the Secretary will lead the U.S. delegation to the Dominican Republican on August 16 to attend the inauguration of His Excellency Luis Abinader.

  • Daily Schedule | Friday, August 14, 2020
  • August 13: Remarks | Secretary Michael R. Pompeo and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa at a Press Availability
  • August 13: Joint Statement | United States – Slovenia Joint Declaration on 5G Security
  • August 13: Fact Sheet | Secretary Pompeo Travels to Slovenia for a Consultation with Valued Ally and Partner
  • August 13: Interview | Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Jure Tepina of Slovenia’s POP TV
  • August 13: Readout | Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Czech President Zeman
  • August 13: Remarks | Secretary Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to Traveling Press
  • August 13: Fact Sheet | Secretary Pompeo Travels to Austria To Deepen Our Alliance
  • August 13: Sanctions | Designation of the Confucius Institute U.S. Center as a Foreign Mission of the PRC
  • August 13: Fact Sheet | Confucius Institute U.S. Center” Designation as a Foreign Mission
  • August 13: Transcript | Briefing with Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David R. Stilwell and Acting Director of the Office of Foreign Missions Clifton C. Seagroves on Actions Taken to Counter PRC Influence Operations
  • August 13: Transcript | Briefing with Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Ambassador James Jeffrey an Update on Syria
  • August 13: Sanctions | The United States Imposes Visa Restrictions on Multiple Individuals Undermining Sudan’s Civilian-Led Transitional Government
  • August 13: Advisory | Under Secretary Hale’s Travel to Lebanon August 13-15 and Cyprus August 16
  • August 13: Statement | Historic Day for Peace in the Middle East
  • August 13: Statement | Suspension of Private Charter Flights between the United States and Cuba
  • August 13: Statement | Republic of Korea National Day
  • August 13: Statement | Pakistan Independence Day
  • August 13: Statement | The Conviction of Eight Members of the Hien Phap Group in Vietnam

US Mission to the United Nations (UN)

  • Fact Sheet: U.S. Introduces Commonsense Resolution to Extend Arms Embargo on World’s Leading State Sponsor of Terrorism (Iran)

Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)

  • Press Release: SEC Charges Hertz’s Former CEO With Aiding and Abetting Company’s Financial Reporting and Disclosure Violation
  • Press Release: Advisory Firm Settles Charges of Defrauding Investors, Agrees to Refund Allegedly Ill-Gotten Gains to Harmed Clients
  • Press Release: SEC Charges Issuer and CEO With Misrepresenting Platform Technology in Fraudulent ICO

Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) | Daily Press Releases

  • Statement from Attorney General William P. Barr on the Arrest of Kansas City Man Charged with the Murder of Four-Year-Old LeGend Taliferro
  • Press Release: Department of Justice Awards over $1 Million in Forensic Grants to Aid Wyoming Investigators
  • Press Release: Justice Department Finds Yale Illegally Discriminates Against Asians and Whites in Undergraduate Admissions in Violation of Federal Civil-Rights Laws
  • Press Release: Global Disruption of Three Terror Finance Cyber-Enabled Campaigns
  • Press Release: Nevada Woman Charged with COVID-Relief Fraud

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)/Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

  • Press Release: CISA Releases Document Suite Exploring the Value of Federated ICAM in Different Public Safety Scenarios
  • Press Release: CBP Collects $575,000 from Pure Circle U.S.A. for Stevia Imports Made with Forced Labor (Washington DC)
  • Press Release: Five Illegal Aliens in Distress Rescued by Yuma Sector and Yuma Air Branch (Arizona)
  • Press Release: Brownsville Port of Entry CBP Officers Seize $768K in Methamphetamine at Veterans International Bridge (Texas)
  • Press Release: Sex Offender Stopped at the Border in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas)
  • Press Release: CBP Field Operations at Hidalgo International Bridge Arrest Man Wanted on Rape Charges (Texas)
  • Press Release: Law Enforcement Cooperation Shuts Down Three Stash Houses (Texas)
  • Press Release: U.S. Border Patrol Agents Assist in Multiple Search and Rescue Operations (Minnesota)
  • Press Release: Cincinnati CBP Intercepts Over 800 Shipments of Counterfeit Batons (Ohio)
  • Press Release: Nearly 2 Tons of Marijuana Seized at the Port of Buffalo (New York)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

  • Press Release: FEMA Obligates Nearly $7.7 Million to the Puerto Rico Forensic Science Institute

Department of Commerce

  • Op-Ed: Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross | The Census Bureau is Not Shortchanging the Count
  • Remarks by Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross at the U.S. Trade Representative Virtual Field Hearing on Seasonal and Perishable Produce | August 13, 2020
  • Blog: Intern Spotlight Series | Kathryn D. Miller, MPA

US International Trade Commission (USITC)

  • Press Release: USITC Votes to Continue Investigations on Standard Steel Welded Wire Mesh From Mexico
  • Press Release: USITC Votes to Continue Investigation on Seamless Refined Copper Pipe and Tube from Vietnam
  • Press Release: USITC Votes to Continue Investigations on Silicon Metal from Bosnia And Herzegovina, Iceland, Kazakhstan, And Malaysia

US Export-Import Bank (EXIM)

  • Press Release: EXIM Chairman and West Virginia Native Kimberly Reed Encourages West Virginia Businesses to Consider Global Marketplace Opportunities at West Virginia Development Office of Export Promotion Event
  • Press Release: EXIM Board of Directors Hosts Meeting as Part of First-Ever Public Assessment of 50-Year EXIM-Private Export Funding Corporation (PEFCO) Public-Private Partnership

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

  • Press Release: Trump Administration Invests $371 Million to Improve Rural Electric Infrastructure in 11 States

Department of Energy

  • Press Release: Department of Energy Announces $20 Million to Advance Perovskite Solar Technologies

Department of Interior

  • Press Release: Trump Administration Outlines Comprehensive Strategy to Tackle $120 Billion Problem (re: invasive species)

Department of Transportation

Department of Labor

  • Press Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report
  • Press Release: U.S. Department of Labor and North American Meat Institute Establish Alliance to Protect Meatpacking Workers
  • Press Release: Court Sentences Former Union Health Plan Trustee and Vice President To 18 Months in Prison After U.S. Department of Labor Investigations
  • Press Release: LaGrange, Georgia, Ashley Homestore Pays Back Wages to Employee Denied Paid Sick Leave After Doctor Directed Coronavirus-Related Quarantine
  • Press Release: Crystal Beach, Florida, Construction Contractor Pays $16,567 in Back Wages After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Uncovers Overtime Violations

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

  • Press Release: HHS Invests in Diagnostic Labs to Expand COVID-19 Testing Capacity in the United States

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

  • Press Release: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update | Daily Roundup August 13, 2020

US Government (USG) COVID-19 Webpages

Non-USG COVID Webpages

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine

Synopsis of President Trump’s Tweets

  • August 14: “Thank you!”  Retweet:  Margaret Davies @Margare03303242 · 13h · Replying to @McKaylaRoseJ · Agreed. So grateful @POTUS keeps fighting for all of us, despite the constant abuse by the press and Democrats in Congress. Let’s all remember to keep him in prayer, for courage, wisdom, and strength.
  • August 14: “It was showing signs of future problems, but was so good when I left 4 years ago!”  Retweet:  New York Post @nypost · Aug 13 · Opinion: A mad rush for the exits as New York City goes down the tubes https://trib.al/VOAKYnk
  • August 14: “Thank you James. Sadly, you are 100% correct!!!”  Retweet:  James Woods @RealJamesWoods · Aug 12 ·This is our last stand, folks. And here’s your last defender. If they take him down, America is gone forever. Vote for @realDonaldTrump like your life depends on it.
  • August 13: “@DonYoungAK really produces for Alaska. He is an incredible Congressman who loves his State and works tirelessly for it. Strong on Public Lands, Energy, and our Second Amendment. He will never let you down, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
  • August 13: “@CynthiaMLummis is a friend of mine and a great woman. She is running for Senate in the very Special State of Wyoming. Cynthia is Strongly for our Military, our Vets, and protection of the Second Amendment…”
  • August 13: “…She will be a great Senator, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
  • August 13:

  • August 13:

  • August 13:

  • August 13:

  • August 13:

  • August 13:

  • August 13: “The world will be laughing and taking full advantage of the United States if Joe Biden ever became President. Our Country would COLLAPSE!”
  • August 13: “Great National Champions, thank you Coach O!”
  • August 13: “HUGE breakthrough today! Historic Peace Agreement between our two GREAT friends, Israel and the United Arab Emirates!”
  • August 13: “Joint Statement of the United States, the State of Israel, and the United Arab Emirates”
  • August 13:  “Drug companies, which are being forced by me to substantially reduce Drug Prices, are taking $millions in ads saying I want to increase Medicare Primiums. Wrong, just the opposite! These ads show DRUG PRICES ARE GOING DOWN, and they are not happy! False advertising!”