Inexpensive, too! Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $14.95.It's us but for your ears. Listen on Apple Podcasts.Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.Thank you for subscribing!By signing up, you agree to our and , and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners.Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget.We noticed you have an ad blocker on. Can you pitch in a...…Inexpensive, too! Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $14.95.It's us but for your ears. Listen on Apple Podcasts.Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.Thank you for subscribing!By signing up, you agree to our and , and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners.Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget.We noticed you have an ad blocker on. Can you pitch in a...WW…

The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.In scrambling to buy protective equipment for the coronavirus pandemic, federal agencies purchased up to $11 million worth of Chinese-made masks, often with little attention to manufacturing details or rapidly evolving regulatory guidance about safety or quality, a ProPublica review shows.Some agencies cannot say who made their masks at a time when thousands of foreign-made respirators appeared on the market, some falsely claiming approval or...…The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.In scrambling to buy protective equipment for the coronavirus pandemic, federal agencies purchased up to $11 million worth of Chinese-made masks, often with little attention to manufacturing details or rapidly evolving regulatory guidance about safety or quality, a ProPublica review shows.Some agencies cannot say who made their masks at a time when thousands of foreign-made respirators appeared on the market, some falsely claiming approval or...WW…

The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.As President Donald Trump came under criticism that his administration had failed to manage the coronavirus pandemic, he cited one area of success: his plan to donate thousands of ventilators to other countries.“Now we’re the king of ventilators,” Trump on April 18.Subscribe to the Big Story newsletter.White House officials have pushed the U.S. Agency for International Development to purchase thousands of the expensive devices from U.S. companies...…The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.As President Donald Trump came under criticism that his administration had failed to manage the coronavirus pandemic, he cited one area of success: his plan to donate thousands of ventilators to other countries.“Now we’re the king of ventilators,” Trump on April 18.Subscribe to the Big Story newsletter.White House officials have pushed the U.S. Agency for International Development to purchase thousands of the expensive devices from U.S. companies...WW…

The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.Last month, as a deadly new virus swept over the globe, one Canadian defense contractor predicted on an earnings call that it would lead to a big business opportunity in the U.S. Thanks to the White House, that bet paid off just a few weeks later in a $96 million no-bid deal.In an unusual move, even in times of disaster, the White House stepped into the federal purchasing process, ordering the Federal Emergency Management Agency to award a...…The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.Last month, as a deadly new virus swept over the globe, one Canadian defense contractor predicted on an earnings call that it would lead to a big business opportunity in the U.S. Thanks to the White House, that bet paid off just a few weeks later in a $96 million no-bid deal.In an unusual move, even in times of disaster, the White House stepped into the federal purchasing process, ordering the Federal Emergency Management Agency to award a...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe White House is preparing to temporarily freeze some foreign aid during President Trump’s final days in office, two people with knowledge of the planning said, slowing down funds already approved by Congress.The Trump administration can’t unilaterally cancel the funding, but it can bog the process down by asking Congress to claw the money back. Lawmakers will likely reject this request, but the act of asking Congress to recoup the money allows the White House to freeze it until Trump leaves office on Jan. 20.Trump has...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe White House is preparing to temporarily freeze some foreign aid during President Trump’s final days in office, two people with knowledge of the planning said, slowing down funds already approved by Congress.The Trump administration can’t unilaterally cancel the funding, but it can bog the process down by asking Congress to claw the money back. Lawmakers will likely reject this request, but the act of asking Congress to recoup the money allows the White House to freeze it until Trump leaves office on Jan. 20.Trump has...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe top official in charge of the U.S. Agency for International Development, John Barsa, has tested positive for the coronavirus, U.S. officials said.Barsa, who leads one of the world’s largest aid organizations, has been isolating since he began exhibiting symptoms late Monday, USAID spokeswoman Pooja Jhunjhunwala said in a statement.“While I do feel tired, I continue to monitor work virtually,” Barsa said in a memo to staffers obtained by The Washington Post. “The Agency’s COVID-19 Readiness Unit is notifying any...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe top official in charge of the U.S. Agency for International Development, John Barsa, has tested positive for the coronavirus, U.S. officials said.Barsa, who leads one of the world’s largest aid organizations, has been isolating since he began exhibiting symptoms late Monday, USAID spokeswoman Pooja Jhunjhunwala said in a statement.“While I do feel tired, I continue to monitor work virtually,” Barsa said in a memo to staffers obtained by The Washington Post. “The Agency’s COVID-19 Readiness Unit is notifying any...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe top political appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development told officials during a phone call Monday that the agency will not cooperate with the transition to a Biden administration until a Trump appointee signs paperwork ascertaining the winner of the presidential election, three officials with knowledge of the conversation told The Washington Post.USAID officials were also told on the call that three Trump loyalists are being elevated to top positions at the agency, even as the administration enters...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe top political appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development told officials during a phone call Monday that the agency will not cooperate with the transition to a Biden administration until a Trump appointee signs paperwork ascertaining the winner of the presidential election, three officials with knowledge of the conversation told The Washington Post.USAID officials were also told on the call that three Trump loyalists are being elevated to top positions at the agency, even as the administration enters...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareHouse Democrats are opening an investigation into the Defense Department’s decision to divert hundreds of millions of dollars in funds meant to build up the country’s medical supplies to defense contractors instead.The investigation comes after The Washington Post reported last week that the Pentagon began funneling the funds to private companies building military supplies shortly after Congress set aside the money in the $2 trillion Cares Act in March.Democratic Reps. James E. Clyburn (S.C.), Maxine Waters (Calif.),...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareHouse Democrats are opening an investigation into the Defense Department’s decision to divert hundreds of millions of dollars in funds meant to build up the country’s medical supplies to defense contractors instead.The investigation comes after The Washington Post reported last week that the Pentagon began funneling the funds to private companies building military supplies shortly after Congress set aside the money in the $2 trillion Cares Act in March.Democratic Reps. James E. Clyburn (S.C.), Maxine Waters (Calif.),...WW…

The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.A company created by a former Pentagon official who describes himself as a White House volunteer for Vice President Mike Pence won a $2.4 million dollar contract in May — its first federal award — to supply the Bureau of Prisons with surgical gowns.Mathew J. Konkler, who worked in the Department of Defense during the George W. Bush administration, formed BlackPoint Distribution Company LLC in August 2019 in Indiana, state records show, but had...…The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.A company created by a former Pentagon official who describes himself as a White House volunteer for Vice President Mike Pence won a $2.4 million dollar contract in May — its first federal award — to supply the Bureau of Prisons with surgical gowns.Mathew J. Konkler, who worked in the Department of Defense during the George W. Bush administration, formed BlackPoint Distribution Company LLC in August 2019 in Indiana, state records show, but had...WW…

The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.A former White House aide won a $3 million federal contract to supply respirator masks to Navajo Nation hospitals in New Mexico and Arizona 11 days after he created a company to sell personal protective equipment in response to the coronavirus pandemic.Zach Fuentes, President Donald Trump’s former deputy chief of staff, secured the deal with the Indian Health Service with limited competitive bidding and no prior federal contracting experience.The...…The U.S. Response to COVID-19ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.A former White House aide won a $3 million federal contract to supply respirator masks to Navajo Nation hospitals in New Mexico and Arizona 11 days after he created a company to sell personal protective equipment in response to the coronavirus pandemic.Zach Fuentes, President Donald Trump’s former deputy chief of staff, secured the deal with the Indian Health Service with limited competitive bidding and no prior federal contracting experience.The...WW…