US executive branch text over image of White HouseThis 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.

12:00 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT receives his intelligence briefing | Oval Office

3:45 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT departs the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews

4:05 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT departs Washington, D.C., en route to Bemidji, MN

5:55 p.m. CDT – THE PRESIDENT arrives at Bemidji Regional Airport | Bemidji, MN

6:00 p.m. CDT – THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks at a Great American Comeback Event | Bemidji, MN

7:25 p.m. CDT – THE PRESIDENT departs Bemidji, MN, en route to Washington, D.C.

10:55 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT arrives at Joint Base Andrews

11:15 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT arrives at the White House

VPOTUS’ Schedule*

9:10 a.m. EDT – THE VICE PRESIDENT departs Washington, D.C., en route Phoenix, AZ, on Air Force Two

10:40 a.m. MST – THE VICE PRESIDENT arrives in Phoenix, AZ, on Air Force Two | Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

11:15 a.m. MST – THE VICE PRESIDENT participates in a Libre Initiative Roundtable | Grand Canyon University | Phoenix, AZ

1:10 p.m. MST – THE VICE PRESIDENT delivers remarks at Veterans for Trump | The Wigwam Resort | Litchfield Park, AZ

3:00 p.m. MST – THE VICE PRESIDENT and THE SECOND LADY depart Phoenix, AZ, en route Yuma, AZ, on Air Force Two

3:50 p.m. MST – THE VICE PRESIDENT and THE SECOND LADY arrive in Yuma, AZ, on Air Force Two

7:30 p.m. MST – THE VICE PRESIDENT and THE SECOND LADY depart Yuma, AZ, en route Washington, D.C., on Air Force Two

Saturday, September 19, 2020

2:45 a.m. EDT – THE VICE PRESIDENT and THE SECOND LADY arrive in Washington, D.C., on Air Force Two

Looking Ahead:  On Thursday, September 24, Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Wisconsin and Minnesota for a bus tour that begins Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  He will visit Midwest Manufacturing and deliver remarks at a Made In America event.  Vice President Pence will next visit Minneapolis, Minnesota, to participate in a Cops for Trump listening session.  Later that evening, the Vice President will return to Washington, D.C.

Recap of Thursday, September 17, 2020

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

The White House

  • Remarks by President Trump at the White House Conference on American History
  • Proclamation on Constitution Day, Citizenship Day, And Constitution Week, 2020
  • Remarks by President Trump on the Repatriation of Native American Artifacts and Remains
  • Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure
  • Nominations: One Nomination Sent to the Senate

Department of Defense (DOD)

  • Readout of Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Dr. James H. Anderson’s Meetings With Indonesian Officials
  • Press Release: Qatari and U.S. Defense Delegations Conduct Discussion of Defense Cooperation
  • Press Release: PDO Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Dr. Michael Cutrone Conducts Virtual Discussion With Members of the Defeat-ISIS Global Coalition
  • Article: DOD Works to Increase Cybersecurity for U.S., Allies
  • Article: ‘Tipping Point’ Is Here for Nuclear Modernization
  • Article: Vice Chairman Discusses Weapons of Mass Destruction at Symposium
  • Advisory: Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist Hosts the DOD 2020 National POW/MIA Recognition Day Commemoration (Sept. 18)
  • Contracts for September 17, 2020

Department of State

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on travel to Georgetown, Guyana; Boa Vista, Brazil; Bogota, Colombia; and Plano, Texas, from September 18-20, 2020.

  • Daily Schedule | Friday, September 18
  • September 17: Remarks | Secretary Michael R. Pompeo And Suriname President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi At a Press Availability
  • September 17: Sanctions | The United States Designates Hizballah Companies and Official
  • September 17: Sanctions | The United States Sanctions Cyber Actors Backed by Iranian Intelligence Ministry
  • September 17: Statement | U.S.-Republic of Lithuania Memorandum of Understanding on 5G Security
  • September 17: Joint Statement | Internet Shutdowns in Belarus
  • September 17: Statement | The United States Announces an Additional $5 Million for Education Cannot Wait
  • September 17: Statement | Chile’s Independence Day
  • September 17: Advisory | Secretary Pompeo to Deliver Remarks at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin (Sept. 23, 2020)

US Agency for International Development (USAID)

  • Press Release: USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick Announces New Partnerships with the Feed the Future Innovation Labs

US Mission to the United Nations (UN)

  • Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on Conflict and Hunger (via VTC)
  • Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Humanitarian Situation in Syria (via VTC)

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI)

  • Congressional Testimony: Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security
  • Press Release: DNI Ratcliffe Statement on Election Threat Updates to Congress | September 16, 2020

Department of the Treasury

  • Sanctions: Treasury Targets Hizballah Executive Council Companies and Official
  • Sanctions: Treasury Sanctions Cyber Actors Backed by Iranian Intelligence Ministry
  • Press Release: Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)

  • Press Release: SEC Awards Almost $250,000 to Joint Whistleblowers
  • Press Release: SEC Charges Former CEO of Technology Company With Raising $123 Million in Fraudulent Offerings

Department of Justice

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) | Daily Press Releases
  • Press Release: Operation Legend | Case of the Day (Western District of Missouri)
  • Press Release: Department of Justice and Partner Departments and Agencies Conduct Coordinated Actions to Disrupt and Deter Iranian Malicious Cyber Activities Targeting the United States and the Broader International Community
  • Press Release: State-Sponsored Iranian Hackers Indicted for Computer Intrusions at U.S. Satellite Companies
  • Speech: Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers Delivers Remarks at Cartel Working Group Plenary | Big Data and Cartelization, 2020 International Competition Network Annual Conference
  • Readout: International Competition Network Addresses Enforcement And Policy Challenges of the Digital Economy at United States-Hosted 19th Annual Conference (Sept 14-17, 2020)
  • Press Release: Blue Bell Creameries Ordered To Pay $17.25 Million In Criminal Penalties In Connection With 2015 Listeria Contamination
  • Press Release: Former Foreign Exchange Trader Sentenced To Prison For Price Fixing And Bid Rigging
  • Press Release: Former Veterans Affairs Doctor Pleads Guilty to Three Civil Rights Offenses
  • Press Release: Colorado Man Charged with Hate Crime After Unprovoked Stabbing of Black Man

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

  • Press Release: Joint Efforts Lead to Multiple Stash House Discoveries (Texas)
  • Press Release: RGV Agents Arrest Gang Member and a Wanted Fugitive (Texas)
  • Press Release: Agents Stop Panga Loaded with 17 Men Trying to Enter U.S. Illegally Off San Diego Coast (California)
  • Press Release: Dulles CBP Officers Seize Nearly $3 Million in Counterfeit Consumer Goods (Virginia)
  • Press Release: El Paso Air Branch Aircrews Conduct Multiple Remote Location Rescues (Texas)
  • Press Release: Border Patrol K9 Teams Sniff Out Narcotics at Southern Arizona Checkpoints (Arizona)
  • Press Release: CBP Seizes $2.54 Million in Fake Rolex Watches (Ohio)
  • Press Release: CBP Intercepts 20,000 Counterfeit N95 Masks in Boston (Massachusetts)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

  • Press Release: FEMA Response Update | Sally and Western Wildfires
  • Press Release: Photos of Whole-of-Government Sally and Wildfire Response
  • Press Release: FEMA Issues $2.7M Installment to California for Earthquake Protection
  • Press Release: Drive-thru Disaster Recovery Centers Opening in Sabine and Vernon Parishes (Louisiana)
  • Press Release: Private Nonprofit Houses of Worship in Louisiana May Be Eligible for FEMA Help to Cover Hurricane Laura Damage

Department of Commerce

  • Press Release: Commerce Department Prohibits WeChat and TikTok Transactions to Protect the National Security of the United States | September 18, 2020

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

  • Press Release:  USDA Announces Contracts for Round 3 of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program
  • Press Release: Trump Administration Invests More Than $7 Million in High-Speed Broadband in Rural South Carolina

Department of Energy

  • Press Release: U.S. Department of Energy Announces Establishment of Office of Arctic Energy

Department of Interior

  • Press Release: Trump Administration Finalizes the Return of American Indian Ancestral Remains and Funerary Objects from Finland

Department of Labor

  • Press Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report
  • Press Release: U.S. Department of Labor Announces Actions To Assist Americans Affected By Hurricane Sally
  • Press Release: United States and Guatemala Sign Joint Agreement To Improve H-2 Visa Program Operations
  • Press Release: U.S. Secretary of Labor Scalia Highlights Economic Reopening in Cincinnati, Ohio

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

  • Press Release: HHS Congratulates NYSS Champions for Promoting Participation in Youth Sports

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

  • Press Release: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update | Daily Roundup September 17, 2020

US Government (USG) COVID-19 Webpages

Non-USG COVID Webpages

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine

Synopsis of President Trump’s Tweets

  • September 18: “A vote for Republicans is a vote for safe communities, great jobs, and a limitless future for ALL Americans. Instead of letting Washington change us, despite all that we have been through, we are changing Washington! http://vote.donaldjtrump.com”

  • September 18: “No one has been more wrong, more often than Biden. He voted FOR the Iraq War, he supported the defense sequester that gutted our military, he opposed the mission to take out Osama bin Laden, he opposed killing Soleimani, he oversaw the rise of ISIS, and he cheered the rise of…”
  • September 18: “…China as a “positive development” for America and the world. If it were up to Joe, bin Laden and Soleimani would still be alive, ISIS would be still on the rampage, and China would now be the dominant power in the world – not America.”
  • September 18: “Never forget, they are coming after ME, because I am fighting for YOU!”

  • September 18: “Joe Biden called police “The Enemy,” and vilified them as a racist, oppressive force. The rhetoric of Joe Biden and the Radical Left puts our Great Law Enforcement in danger.”

  • September 18: “…dollar tax hike, ban American Energy, confiscate your guns, shutdown the economy, destroy the suburbs, erase your borders, and indoctrinate your children with poisonous anti-American lies.”
  • September 17: “If Biden Wins, CHINA WINS. If Biden Wins, the mob WINS. If Biden Wins, the rioters, anarchists, arsonists, and flag-burners WIN. I am running for re-election to bring jobs and factories back to Wisconsin, to put violent criminals behind bars, and to ensure the future belongs…”

  • September 17: “…to America – NOT CHINA. Because if we win, AMERICA WINS. We built the greatest economy in the history of the world, and now we are doing it again!”
  • September 17: “I was thrilled to be back in WISCONSIN tonight with thousands of loyal, hardworking American Patriots! 47 days from now, we are going to win Wisconsin, and we are going to win 4 more years in the White House! #MAGA”
  • September 17: “But Chris, you don’t see any activity from China, even though it is a FAR greater threat than Russia, Russia, Russia. They will both, plus others, be able to interfere in our 2020 Election with our totally vulnerable Unsolicited (Counterfeit?) Ballot Scam. Check it out!”
  • September 17: “…And I look at them as a bunch of well funded ANARCHISTS & THUGS who are protected because the Comey/Mueller inspired FBI is simply unable, or unwilling, to find their funding source, and allows them to get away with “murder”.  LAW & ORDER!”  Retweet:  ABC News @ABC · 22h · MORE: Wray adds that investigations into “violent anarchist extremists…who self-identify with the antifa movement” are “just one part” of investigations into domestic terror, which also includes “racially motivated violent extremists, the militia-types, and others.” twitter.com/ABC/status/130…
  • September 17: “‘On Air Force One heading to Wisconsin. Biden refused to go there to apologize for not showing up for the failed Democrat Convention. So funny to watch the Fake News fawning over Sleepy Joe’s ridiculous “car press conference’. Pathetic!”
  • September 17: “Bob Woodward’s badly written book is very boring & totally “obsolete”. Didn’t even talk about the recent Middle East deal. Just another tired, washed up Trump Hater, who can’t stand that I have done so much, so quickly! #MAGA”
  • September 17: “Happy #ConstitutionDay!”

  • September 17: “Volunteer to be a Trump Election Poll Watcher. Sign up today! #MakeAmericaGreatAgain”
  • September 17: “The Democrats are just ANGRY that the vaccine and delivery are so far ahead of schedule. They hate what they are seeing. Saving lives should make them happy, not sad!”
  • September 17: “I would like to extend best wishes and a very happy 70th birthday to the Prime Minister of India, @narendramodi. Many happy returns to a GREAT LEADER and loyal friend!”

  • September 17: “Want to register to vote? Request an Absentee Ballot or vote early – simply click the below link. My campaign has made it incredibly easy! #Vote #TrumpPence2020”

  • September 17: “Biden and the Democrats want to get rid of the Private Healthcare Plans for 180 MILLION Americans that are happy. They’ll be put on socialized medicine!”
  • September 17: “Just out: Some people in the Great State of North Carolina have been sent TWO BALLOTS. RIGGED ELECTION in waiting!”
  • September 17: “Congratulations Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. You have a great life story! I know you will do a tremendous job for Japan and for the world. Look forward to talking soon! @kantei @sugawitter”
  • September 17: “I am lowering, not raising, Medicare Premiums!”
  • September 17: “Unsolicited Ballots are uncontrollable, totally open to ELECTION INTERFERENCE by foreign countries, and will lead to massive chaos and confusion!”
  • September 17: “State Supreme Court in Pennsylvania just affirmed that Ballot harvesting remains illegal. We will be watching that the Democrats do not Ballot Harvest – a felony. In other words, the Republican Party won on the atrocious Ballot Harvesting Scam…”
  • September 17: “…Importantly, we also won on the Ballot Cure Provision. Waiting for the BIG Federal decisions in Pennsylvania, Nevada, and elsewhere!”

  • September 17: “The Democrat Trump Hater Secretary of State of Michigan, purposely misprinted Ballots for the Military, putting the wrong names on the Ballot, and actually listing a member of another party as a replacement for Vice President @Mike_Pence. Everybody is totally confused by their…”
  • September 17: “…egregious behavior, which is just the way they want it. This was not a mistake, it was done illegally and on purpose. We want Mike!”