Trump discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center, returns to White House
- President Donald Trump (R) was discharged from the Walter Reed Medical Center on October 5 and returned to the White House after receiving treatment for COVID-19. In a video posted to Twitter, Trump said of the coronavirus, “Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it. You’re going to beat it. We have the best medical equipment. We have the best medicines, all developed recently.”
- The Trump campaign said on October 7 that Trump was considering returning to the campaign trail with an event in Pennsylvania as early as October 12. Trump’s physician said that Trump’s physical exam and vital signs were stable and in the normal range. He said Trump was symptom-free for over 24 hours and had detectable levels of antibodies in his lab work.
Harris, Pence discuss COVID-19 response, economy, Supreme Court in vice presidential debate
- Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Vice President Mike Pence (R) debated in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Oct. 7. The
debate was 90 minutes long and divided into 10-minute segments. USA Today's Susan Page moderated the event.
- Following President Donald Trump's (R) COVID-19 diagnosis, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced the candidates would be seated 12 feet apart rather than the originally planned seven feet. The candidates were also separated by plexiglass.
- The candidates discussed the coronavirus pandemic, economy, climate change, China, foreign policy, abortion, healthcare, race, and the election. Pence spoke for 36.5 minutes, while Harris spoke for 36.4 minutes. Click here for highlights of what each candidate said.
U.S. Supreme Court begins 2020-2021 term
- The U.S. Supreme Court began its 2020-2021 term 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 the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The court heard six hours of oral argument from October 5 to October 7 and will hear four hours of oral argument from October 13 to October 14. The cases were originally scheduled for the court’s 2019-2020 term but were postponed due to the 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
- The Court also announced October 9 that it would conduct its proceedings via teleconference through the end of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Commission on Presidential Debates cancels second debate
- On Oct. 9, the Commission on Presidential Debates canceled the second of three presidential debates between President Donald Trump (R) and former Vice President Joe Biden (D). The debate
was originally scheduled for Oct. 15.
- Following Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, the commission announced on Oct. 8 that the debate would be held virtually in order to protect the health and safety of the participants. Moderator Steve Scully would conduct the town hall-style event with attendees asking questions in Miami. The candidates would participate remotely.
- The Biden campaign agreed to the virtual format. Trump said in an interview that he would not participate. “I am not going to waste my time on a virtual debate,” he said. Biden is now scheduled to participate in an ABC town hall instead with voters in Philadelphia on Oct. 15.
- The Trump campaign requested the second debate be moved to Oct. 22 and the third debate moved to Oct. 29. The Biden campaign rejected this proposal. After the Trump campaign said it would go forward with an in-person second debate on Oct. 15, the commission said it would not reconsider its decision to make the event virtual.
Federal officials, White House staff announce COVID-19 test results
- Here is a list of officeholders, candidates, and influencers who have tested positive for coronavirus during the past
week.
- On Oct. 5, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced she tested positive for coronavirus. The following day, Stephen Miller, a senior policy advisor to President Trump, announced he had also tested positive for the virus. Last week, Bill Stepien, President Trump’s campaign manager, and Kellyanne Conway, a former counselor to President Trump, announced on Oct. 2 that they had tested positive.
- On Oct. 3, Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) office announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus. Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) both announced positive tests on Oct. 2.
- On Oct. 6, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) announced he had tested positive for coronavirus.
- Several federal officials, candidates, and influencers announced negative tests over the last week.
- On Oct. 4, Joe Biden's (D) campaign announced he tested negative for coronavirus for the third time since Oct. 2.
- Several members of the U.S. Senate reported negative tests, including Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Lindsey Graham
(R-S.C.).
- Several members of the U.S. House reported negative tests, including Reps. Mike Crapo (R-Id.), Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Tom Emmer
(R-Minn.).
Senate Judiciary Committee to begin hearings on Barrett nomination
- The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold hearings on the nomination of Amy Coney
Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court from October 12 to October 15. President Trump nominated Barrett on Sept. 29 to fill the vacancy opened by the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- Ginsburg died on Sept. 18. She was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton and confirmed to the court in 1993. She was the second woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court.
- Barrett was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in 2017 by President Trump (R) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 55-43. She previously clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.
Sen. Pat Toomey announces he won’t run for re-election in 2022
- U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) announced October 5 that he would not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate and would be retiring from Congress. Toomey also stated that he would not run for governor of Pennsylvania in 2022.
- At a press conference, Toomey said, “I will not be running for reelection in 2022 and I will not be running for governor. I will serve out the remainder of my term for a little over two years that are left to the current term and after that my plan is to go back to the private sector.” While he said he had no specific plans, he said he looked forward to spending more time with his family.
- Toomey was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, defeating Joe Sestak (D) 51% to 49% for the seat previously held by Arlen Specter (D). Toomey won re-election in 2016, defeating Katie McGinty (D) 48% to 47%. Prior to his time in the Senate, Toomey represented Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District from 1999 to 2005.
- Republicans are currently in the majority in the U.S. Senate with 53 seats. Democrats hold 45 seats and two are held by independents who caucus with the Democratic Party.
- Thirty-five Senate seats are up for election in 2020. If Republicans lose no more than two seats, they will retain control of the Senate. If Democrats win four or more seats, they will gain a majority. If Republicans lose exactly three seats, whichever party wins the presidential election will have the majority, as the vice president serves as president of the Senate.
Rep. Tom Graves resigns from Congress
- Georgia Rep. Tom Graves (R) resigned from Congress effective Oct. 4 after stating on Sept. 11 that he would leave the House of Representatives before the end of the year. Graves had previously announced on Dec. 5, 2019, that he would not seek re-election in 2020.
- Graves issued the following statement via Twitter on Oct. 2: “Today I sent letters to Gov. Kemp & House officials to say I would be stepping down from Congress on Sunday, 10/4. It is time to begin the next season in life. I will be forever grateful for the incredible privilege of serving my country & community as a member of Congress.” Graves was first elected in 2010 in a special election.
- Graves is one of 12 members of Congress to leave office early or announce their resignation. Of these 12, nine are Republicans and three are Democrats. There are currently 232 Democrats, 197 Republicans, one Libertarian, and five vacancies in the U.S. House.
Is Congress in session?
Congress is not in session next week. Click here to see the full calendar for the second session of the 116th Congress.
Where was the president last week?
President Trump left Walter Reed Medical Center and returned to the White House on Oct. 5. He spent the rest of the week recovering from COVID-19 in Washington, D.C.
Federal Judiciary
- 64 federal judicial vacancies
- 40 pending nominations
- 4 future federal judicial vacancies
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