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.

Note:  On Thursday, 24 December, the U.S. Federal Government is closed, pursuant to the President’s Executive Order providing for the closing of Executive Departments and Agencies on this day.  The Federal Government will also be closed on Friday, 25 December, in recognition of the Christmas Day holiday.

POTUS’ Schedule*

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

THE PRESIDENT has no public events scheduled.

According to The White House, “As the Holiday season approaches, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American People. His schedule includes many meetings and calls.”

VPOTUS’ Schedule*

THE VICE PRESIDENT has no public events scheduled.

Recap of Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Note: Bold hyperlinks spotlight COVID-19 and reopening developments.

The White House

  • Presidential Veto Message to the House of Representatives for H.R. 6395 (Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act)
  • Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency
  • Bills Signed into Law:
    • R. 3465, the “Fallen Journalist Memorial Act, which authorizes the Fallen Journalist Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia to commemorate America’s commitment to a free press by honoring journalist who sacrificed their lives to that cause;
    • R. 4761, the “DHS Opioid Detection Resilience Act of 2019,” which requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to implement a strategy to ensure that chemical screening devices at ports of entry are able to identify illicit narcotics at specified purity levels;
    • 199, the “Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act,” which directs the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer to the Secretary of the Interior certain Federal land to be held in trust for the benefit of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe;
    • 1014, the “Route 66 Centennial Commission Act,” which creates a Route 66 Centennial Commission to study and make recommendations regarding activities the Federal government may carry out to commemorate Route 66 on its centennial anniversary in 2026;
    • 2258, the “Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019,” which prohibits employers from retaliating against certain employees who report criminal antitrust violations to a supervisor or the Federal Government;
    • 2904, the “Identifying Outputs of Generative Adversarial Networks Act or the IOGAN Act,” which requires the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to support research on generative adversarial networks that are designed to produce deepfakes, which are videos, audio files, or photos that have manipulated or synthesized content; and
    • 2981, the “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2020,” which amends provisions related to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps; authorizes NOAA to enter into noncompetitive co-location agreements for real property with certain entities; and reforms NOAA’s procedures for addressing instances of alleged sexual misconduct.
  • Signing Statement by the President (re: 2981, the “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2020”)
  • Signing Statement by the President (re: 1014, the “Route 66 Centennial Commission Act”)
  • Bills Signed into Law:
    • R. 1830, the “National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act,” which requires the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue coins in commemoration of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor;
    • R. 3349, the “Republic of Texas Legation Memorial Act,” which authorizes the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to establish the Republic of Texas Legation Memorial as a commemorative work in the District of Columbia;
    • 134, the “Combat Online Predators Act,” which increases the maximum prison term for a stalking offense if the victim is under 18 years of age;
    • 578, the “The ALS Disability Insurance Act of 2019, which eliminates the five-month waiting period to receive Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits for individuals diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS);
    • 1153, the “Stop Student Debt Relief Scams Act of 2019, which establishes penalties for individuals who obtain unauthorized access of certain student loan information and to expand the existing requirements for student loan exit counseling; and
    • 3703, the “Promoting Alzheimer’s Awareness to Prevent Elder Abuse Act,” which requires the Justice Department to update certain best practices and training materials to address victims and witnesses who have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Department of Defense (DOD)

  • Publication: COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Installation Status Update, Dec. 23, 2020
  • Article: Operation Warp Speed Leader Provides Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery
  • Press Release: Trump Administration Purchases Additional 100 Million Doses of COVID-19 Investigational Vaccine From Pfizer
  • Press Release: DOD Awards $15 Million Firm Fixed Price Contract to Corning Incorporated to Increase Domestic Production Capacity of Robotic Pipette Tips
  • Press Release: HHS, DOD Collaborate With Merck to Continue the Development and Large-Scale Manufacturing of Investigational COVID-19 Treatment
  • Contracts for December 23, 2020

Department of State

  • Daily Schedule | Thursday, December 24
  • December 24: Statement | Libya Independence Day
  • December 23: Statement | The United States’ Humanitarian Assistance Response to Conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region
  • December 23: Statement | Reinstatement of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to AGOA
  • December 23: Statement | Joint Report to Congress: Human Trafficking in the Seafood Supply Chain
    • Link to Report, courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
  • December 23: Sanctions | Imposing Sanctions and Visa Restrictions on Additional Individuals and Entities Undermining Belarusian Democracy

Department of the Treasury

  • Press Release: President’s Working Group on Financial Markets Releases Statement on Key Regulatory and Supervisory Issues Relevant to Certain Stablecoins
  • Sanctions: Treasury Sanctions Additional Belarusian Regime Actors for Undermining Democracy

Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)

  • Press Release: SEC Issues Statement and Requests Comment Regarding the Custody of Digital Asset Securities by Special Purpose Broker-Dealers
  • Press Release: SEC Chief of Staff Sean Memon Announces Plans to Conclude Tenure

Department of Justice

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) | Daily Press Releases
  • Press Release: Attorney General William P. Barr Announces Results of Operation Legend
  • Press Release: Former NGO Procurement Official Pleads Guilty to Bribery
  • Press Release: U.S. Government and the State of Illinois Reach Agreement with Peoria and the Greater Peoria Sanitary District to Reduce Water Pollution from Sewer System
  • Press Release: North Carolina Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Federal Prison for Preparing False Tax Returns

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

  • Press Release: New Yuma Sector Border Patrol chief named (Arizona)
  • Video Release: Air and Marine Operations and U.S. Border Patrol Agents Rescue Illegal Entrant Fallen from Cliff (Arizona)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

  • Press Release: HOLIDAY STRESS in the TIME of COVID-19
  • Press Release: FEMA Awards $3 Million to Rhode Island Department of Health for COVID-19 Expenses
  • Press Release: FEMA Direct Temporary Housing Program Continues to Ramp Up (Oregon)
  • Press Release: FEMA Helpline Closes for Holidays; Mitigation Outreach Phones Open (Louisiana)

Department of Commerce

  • Press Release: U.S. Department of Commerce Unveils new Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis System

US Export-Import Bank (EXIM)

  • Press Release: EXIM Board Unanimously Approves New Policy to Support U.S. Exporter Sales to Additional Foreign Markets and More Effectively Counter Competitors Such as the People’s Republic of China
  • Press Release: EXIM Signs $1 Billion Memorandum of Understanding with the Dominican Republic’s Banco Nacional de las Exportaciones (BANDEX) to Promote Economic Cooperation and Business Development Opportunities
  • Press Release: #ICYMI | EXIM Chairman Kimberly Reed Interviewed by Hugh Hewitt on The Hugh Hewitt Show on Crucial Importance of the Export-Import Bank of the United States

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

  • Press Release: USDA Clears Santa’s Reindeer for Entry into the United States

Department of Energy

  • Press Release: Department of Energy Issues Report on Management and Beneficial Reuse of Used Lubricating Oil

Department of Labor

  • Press Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report
  • Press Release: Southern California Produce Company Pays Back Wages to Five Employees Wrongly Denied Paid Sick Leave After Coronavirus Diagnoses
  • Press Release: U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division Delivers Record-Breaking Outreach in Fiscal Year 2020

Health & Human Services (HHS)

  • Press Release: HHS, DOD collaborate with Merck to continue the development and large-scale manufacturing of investigational COVID-19 treatment
  • Press Release: Trump Administration purchases additional 100 million doses of COVID-19 investigational vaccine from Pfizer

Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

  • Press Release: FDA Takes Further Steps to Confront Opioid Crisis Through Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Programs
  • Press Release: FDA authorizes marketing of new device designed to remove dead pancreatic tissue

US Government (USG) COVID-19 Webpages

Non-USG COVID Webpages

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine