Biden, Trump square off in first presidential debate
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WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND!

We've put together the top stories in federal politics this week. Check out the highlights from this week below. For a more thorough account of the week, please click the button to launch the full edition of The Federal Tap.

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PRESIDENT TRUMP, FIRST LADY TEST POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS
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* On October 2, President Donald Trump ([link removed]) (R) announced on Twitter that he and first lady Melania Trump ([link removed]) had tested positive for COVID-19.

* President Trump announced his positive test result hours after aide and senior advisor Hope Hicks ([link removed]) tested positive for the virus.
 

* On October 2, hours after Trump announced his positive test result, former Vice President Joe Biden ([link removed]) (D) announced that he and his wife Jill had tested negative for COVID-19.
 
* Sen. Mike Lee ([link removed]) (R-Utah) announced on October 2 that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
 
* On October 2, White House spokesman Judd Deere announced that Amy Coney Barrett ([link removed]) , a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and President Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court opened by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg ([link removed]) , tested negative for coronavirus.
 
* Ballotpedia has tracked 17 federal officeholders who have tested positive for COVID-19, including 13 members of the House and three members of the Senate.

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BIDEN, TRUMP SPAR OVER COVID-19, ECONOMY, RACE IN FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
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* President Donald Trump (R) and former Vice President Joe Biden (D) met Tuesday in the first of three presidential election debates ([link removed]) . The candidates discussed the Supreme Court vacancy, coronavirus pandemic, economy, race and violence, climate change, election integrity, and their political records.
 
* Fox News' Chris Wallace moderated the debate and selected the questions and topics. Trump spoke for 39.1 minutes, while Biden spoke for 37.9 minutes. Click here ([link removed]) for highlights of what each candidate said.
 
* Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic co-hosted the event in Ohio. The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, was originally scheduled to host the event but withdrew in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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U.S. SUPREME COURT BEGINS NEW TERM
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* The U.S. Supreme Court begins its 2020-2021 term ([link removed]) after being in recess since July. The court announced it would hear oral arguments via teleconference and would provide live audio of the arguments for its October sitting following the same format that was used during its May sitting in the 2019-2020 term. It made the decision in accordance with public health guidance in response to COVID-19.
 
* During its October sitting, the court will hear 10 hours of oral argument in 12 cases between October 5 and October 14. The cases were originally scheduled for the court’s 2019-2020 term but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
 

* OCTOBER 5

* _Carney v. Adams_
* _Texas v. New Mexico_
 

* OCTOBER 6

* _Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association_
* _FNU Tanzin v. Tanvir_
 

* OCTOBER 7

* _Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc._
* _Ford Motor Company v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court _(Consolidated with _Ford Motor Company v. Bandemer_)
 

* OCTOBER 13

* _United States v. Briggs _(Consolidated with _United States v. Collins_)
* _City of Chicago, Illinois v. Fulton_
 

* OCTOBER 14

* _Torres v. Madrid_
* _Pereida v. Barr_

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HARRIS, PENCE TO MEET IN ONLY VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
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* Sen. Kamala Harris (D) and Vice President Mike Pence (R) are meeting in the only vice presidential debate ([link removed]) of the 2020 election cycle. The University of Utah is hosting the event in Salt Lake City.
 
* The debate will be 90 minutes long and divided into 10-minute segments. _USA Today's_ Susan Page is moderating the event.
 
* Two presidential debates remain this year: one in Miami on October 15 and the other in Nashville on October 22.

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BARRETT MEETS WITH SENATORS AHEAD OF SUPREME COURT NOMINATION HEARINGS
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* Amy Coney Barrett visited Capitol Hill for a series of meetings with members of the U.S. Senate beginning Tuesday. Individual meetings with U.S. senators are a traditional first step for U.S. Supreme Court nominees in the lead-up to confirmation hearings. President Trump (R) nominated Barrett Saturday to fill the vacancy opened by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.
 
* Among the senators Barrett met with Tuesday were Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). 
 
* Barrett did not have a formal meeting with any Democratic senators. Several Democratic senators, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Judiciary Committee members Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said they would not meet with Barrett because they were opposed to considering her nomination.
 
* Past U.S. Supreme Court nominees have been accompanied by a guide known as a _sherpa_ who is experienced in U.S. Senate procedure. Brett Kavanaugh was accompanied by former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), while Neil Gorsuch was accompanied by former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.). Owing to social distancing measures, no sherpa has been named to accompany Barrett. Instead, she was joined by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone.
 
* Barrett’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin October 12. Should the Judiciary Committee vote in favor of advancing her nomination, it will proceed to the full Senate for a final debate and vote.
 
* The Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee requested a delay in the hearing in an October 1 letter to Chairman Graham (R). The members said that there was not enough time to conduct a thorough vetting of Barrett’s record ahead of the November election.

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FRANKLIN, HALL ADVANCE TO DECEMBER 1 RUNOFF IN GEORGIA’S 5TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT SPECIAL ELECTION
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* Seven candidates ran in Georgia’s 5th Congressional District special election on September 29, 2020. Robert Franklin (D) and Kwanza Hall (D) were the top-two finishers, garnering 28% and 32% of the vote, respectively. They were followed by Mable Thomas (D), who received 19%, and Keisha Sean Waites (D), who received 12%. No other candidate received over 10% of the vote.
 
* Franklin is a professor of theology at Emory University and was on the Georgia Democratic Party's shortlist of replacement nominees for the November election in Georgia's 5th. Hall is a former member of the Atlanta City Council who, leading up to the election, worked as managing director at Entrepreneurial Enterprises.
 
* A general runoff election is scheduled for December 1 since no candidate received at least 50% of the vote. The winner of that race will serve the remainder of John Lewis’ (D) congressional term through January 3, 2021, meaning their tenure in Congress will last 33 days.

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[link removed]'s_Daily_Presidential_News_Briefing
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CONGRESS IS IN SESSION
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The Senate is in session next week. Click here ([link removed]) to see the full calendar for the second session of the 116th Congress.

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WHERE WAS THE PRESIDENT LAST WEEK?
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* On Monday, Trump was in Washington, D.C.
* On Tuesday, Trump participated in the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.
* On Wednesday, Trump spoke at a Make America Great Again event in Duluth, Minnesota. 
* On Thursday, Trump met with supporters in Bedminster, New Jersey.
* On Friday, Trump was in quarantine after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

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FEDERAL JUDICIARY
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* 64 federal judicial vacancies
* 40 pending nominations
* 4 future federal judicial vacancies

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