Trump claims to have been taking hydroxychloroquine despite FDA warnings – live

Trump’s use of hydroxychloroquine doesn’t appear to fit within the FDA’s Emergency use authorization of the drug as a treatment for coronavirus. The president said he asked the White House doctor if he could take the antimalarial drug. “He said, well, if you’d like it.”

The Emergency Use Authorization is very specific. It “allows chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate donated to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and distributed to states to be used by licensed health care providers to treat adults and teens hospitalized with COVID-19 who weigh more than 50 kg (110 pounds)“ according to the FDA.

It does not authorize the use of the dug as a preventative treatment.

Even Fox News was taken aback by the president’s announcement that he’s taking hydroxychloroquine.

Fact check: Trump on hydroxychloroquine

Trump acknowledged research finding that US veterans treated with hydroxychloroquine didn’t seem to fare better than those who weren’t given the drug. The preliminary study found that those treated with hydroxychloroquine had a higher risk of death than those who were not. The pre-print of the study, which has been published online without peer review, comes with many caveats. None of those caveats include Trump’s analysis. Those behind the research “aren’t big Trump fans,” the president said as an explanation for why he’s taking the unproven drug. The research was a “a very unscientific report,” Trump said.

The research was conducted by the VA and academic institutions including the University of Virginia School of Medicine. It analyzed the cases of 368 male coronavirus patients nationwide, 97 receiving hydroxychloroquine, 113 receiving hydroxychloroquine in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin, and 158 not receiving any hydroxychloroquine. This was not a randomized clinical trial, the gold standard of drug testing, which would randomly assign hydroxychloroquine treatment to some patients and not to others. Instead, researchers looked back on cases — and weren’t able to account for why doctors chose to treat some patients with the antimalarial drug and not others. It could be that those treated with hydroxychloroquine had a higher chance of death because doctors chose to give the most severely ill patients the unproven drug.

Asked about the potential harsh side effects of taking the drug, Trump told reporters, “All I can tell you is, so far I seem to be OK.”

Hydroxychloroquine is considered relatively safe for people without an underlying illness, but it’s unclear if it is safe for severely sick Covid-19 patients, who may have incurred organ damage due to the virus. The drug can have serious side effects, including serious heart rhythm problems.

So far, the evidence that it’s a cure for coronavirus is anecdotal and mixed. An initial French study that appeared to have launched the Trump administration’s obsession with the drug has since been discredited. The early results of trials and studies that have tricked in so far have not provided compelling evidence that hydroxychloriquine is a “miracle” drug, as Trump has claimed before.

The surge in demand for the unproven hydroxychloroquine also risks shortages of the drug for those who need it most. It is used to help patients manage the chronic autoimmune disease lupus, but some are already complaining the drug is harder to come by.

If Trump is taking hydroxychloroquine, he is going against the advice of his own administration.

The FDA has warned against using hydroxychloroquine or a related compound, chloroquine, for treating or preventing Covid-19 without medical supervision in a hospital, or as part of a clinical trial.

“While clinical trials are ongoing to determine the safety and effectiveness of these drugs for Covid-19, there are known side effects of these medications that should be considered,” the FDA commissioner, Stephen M Hahn, said in a statement issued in late April. “The FDA will continue to monitor and investigate these potential risks and will communicate publicly when more information is available.”

Here’s the clip of Trump saying he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine.

“I get a lot of positive calls about it,” Trump said of the antimalarial drug. So far, the scientific evidence that the drug works as a treatment has been thin. It has not been widely investigated as a prophylactic measure.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo claimed it was “not possible” the state department inspector general’s firing was an act of political retaliation because he didn’t know he was being investigated.

“It is not possible that this decision, or my recommendation rather, to the president rather, was based on any effort to retaliate for any investigation that was going on, or is currently going on,” Pompeo told the Washington Post.

“Because I simply don’t know. I’m not briefed on it. I usually see these investigations in final draft form 24 hours, 48 hours before the IG is prepared to release them. So it’s simply not possible for this to be an act of retaliation. End of story.”

However, according to Politico, state department officials were recently briefed on the conclusions of the inspector general’s investigation into Pompeo’s decision to approve arms sales to Saudi Arabia last year, and the secretary refused to sit for an interview.

It should be noted that Republican senator Chuck Grassley’s letter to Trump demanding an explanation for the removal of state department inspector general Steve Linick does not outline any consequences if the president does not comply.

Trump has already ignored a similar letter from senators demanding an explanation for why intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson was ousted from his role.

In response to Grassley’s letter, Democratic senator Chris Murphy noted he has drafted legislation to guarantee inspectors general a seven-year term in office. The bill stipulates the oversight officials would only be able to be removed early for “permanent incapacity, inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, or conviction of a felony or conduct involving moral turpitude.”

“We simply cannot allow President Trump to weaponize independent oversight positions in his administration to reward his friends, punish his political enemies, and cover up wrongdoing,” Murphy said last month.

The Republican chair of the Senate finance committee has sent Trump a letter demanding an explanation for his removal of the state department inspector general.

In the letter, senator Chuck Grassley noted lawmakers from both parties have similarly expressed concern about the recent removal of intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson.

The Iowa Republican asked Trump to provide a written explanation for Steve Linick’s removal by June 1 and respond to lawmakers’ letter about Atkinson “as soon as possible.”

“As mentioned in previous letters, Congress’s intent is clear that an expression of lost confidence, without further explanation, is not sufficient to fulfill the requirements of the IG Reform Act,” Grassley wrote.

“IGs are intended to be equal opportunity investigators and are designed to combat waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct without regard to political affiliation. They are the ultimate swamp drainers,” Grassley continued.

“Removal of IGs without explanation could create a chilling effect in the oversight community, and risks decreasing the quantity, quality, fidelity, and veracity of their reports.”

Trump appeared “highly focused” on Barack Obama during this past weekend at Camp David, according to CNN.

CNN reports:

Trump headed into the weekend appearing convinced his predecessor committed a crime worthy of investigation — despite being unable to name the crime or provide any evidence for it. By Sunday, he emerged prepared to wage wholesale political war with the last person who held his office. …

As he huddled in the mountainside retreat’s rustic cabins with a roster of Republican lawmakers — many of whom forged national profiles defending Trump during his impeachment proceedings — Trump discussed ways to advance the baseless conspiracy about the former president, the person said.

Attorney general William Barr said today that he did not expect the investigation into the handling of the Russia probe to result in a criminal investigation of Obama or Biden.

Despite that comment from a senior member of his own administration, Trump seems unwilling to abandon the #Obamagate conspiracy theory, which former CIA analyst Ned Price described as “a hashtag in search of a scandal.”

Health and human services secretary Alex Azar lashed out against Peter Navarro this morning, after the White House trade adviser critcized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its handling of the pandemic.

Azar said Navarro’s comments on “Meet the Press” yesterday were “inaccurate and inappropriate.” Azar acknowledged CDC’s early error in developing a coronavirus test, but he argued that mistake had not signficantly hampered the US response to the virus.

In contrast, Navarro said yesterday that the CDC had “let the country down.” “Early on in this crisis, the CDC, which really had the most trusted brand around the world in this space — really let the country down with the testing,” Navarro said. “Not only did they keep the testing within the bureaucracy they had a bad test and that set us back.”

Navarro’s comments come as tensions between the White House and the CDC are reportedly escalating.

CNN reports:

In particular, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator for the President’s coronavirus task force, has become increasingly critical of the CDC, making clear in recent meetings that she is more than frustrated with the agency, according to two senior administration officials. Specifically, Birx believes the way the CDC gathers data on the coronavirus is antiquated, causing inaccurate and delayed numbers on both virus cases and deaths.

Birx has expressed her agitation during recent task force meetings, where at least one conversation between her and CDC Director Robert Redfield has grown heated, according to a source close to the task force. Birx and Redfield have known each other for decades, due to their work on HIV research together. And while Birx defended Redfield to their peers earlier this year over the CDC’s faulty test kits, her tone toward him has shifted dramatically in recent weeks, according to multiple officials and a source close to the task force.

The Guardian’s Kenya Evelyn recaps New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily briefing:

New Yorkers received more than $9bin in unemployment benefits, Cuomo announced at his latest briefing on the state’s response to coronavirus.

Daily cases continue their downward trend, as the governor reported 106 deaths Sunday – the lowest total in several weeks. But Cuomo noted that $9.2bn in unemployment benefits have been paid out to more than two million New Yorkers, a sobering fact underscoring the virus’ lingering economic effect.

State officials acknowledged some residents have yet to be paid, but Cuomo argued the challenge is stamping out fraud to protect taxpayer money.

“Suzy Smith is really a computer terminal in some other country,” he quipped of potential fraudulent filings, before noting he’d likely face backlash for the remark.

Cuomo continued to push back at questions regarding the state’s early response to the coronavirus outbreak in nursing homes, contending the facilities are a top priority. He announced 35,000 tests had been reserved just for nursing homes.

New York state is also requiring facility personnel to get tested twice a week, as the governor said the state would have to “ramp up from about 25,000 tests to 90,000 tests a day”.

The governor had been criticized for previously allowing patients back to nursing homes after they tested positive for Covid-19 after more than 5,000 residents died since 1 March. That policy was reversed 10 May.

In the presser, the governor also announced that western New York, which includes Buffalo, will begin phase 1 of reopening this week. State officials were able to identify more than 525 contact tracers to aid in the effort. Still, Cuomo cautioned businesses and state leaders to follow the science.

“This is not a subject that is a political subject, or where political opinions really matter,” he said. “I don’t even care about your personal opinion, this is about facts and science and data.”

Cuomo added that he had been “encouraging major sports team to plan reopening without fans, but the games can be televised,” telling reporters he’d want to watch the Buffalo Bills.

That’s the only NFL team whose reopening Cuomo would be able to affect, however. Both the New York Giants and Jets play at MetLife Stadium, located in New Jersey.