Stevenson’s army, April 3
I’m sure Jared Kushner means well. He wants to be the fixer, end-running a clunky bureaucracy to good things for his father-in-law and the country. But NYT reports this is how he does his self-assigned job.Because of his unique status, he has made himself the point of contact for many agency officials who know that he can force action and issue decisions without going to the president. But while Mr. Kushner and his allies say that he has brought more order to the process, the government’s response remains fragmented and behind the curve.Some officials said Mr. Kushner had mainly added another layer of confusion to that response, while taking credit for changes already in progress and failing to deliver on promised improvements. He promoted a nationwide screening website and a widespread network of drive-through testing sites. Neither materialized.In recent days, administration officials said, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which traditionally coordinates the government’s responses to disasters, has received surprise directives from the White House — including to dispatch deliveries of medical equipment to states that had not even submitted formal requests based on which governor got Mr. Trump on the telephone.Mr. Kushner has embedded dozens of political appointees and recruits from the private sector in critical spots like FEMA. His “impact team,” as he calls it, has been nicknamed the Slim Suit Crowd for its sartorial preferences by khaki-wearing FEMA veterans.
In other news, the Navy has relieved of command the captain of the Theodore Roosevelt.
NYT confirms Bloomberg story about CIA report saying China underreported virus info.
WSJ has more on lobbying for pieces of the CARES act.
LA Times says administration cut pandemic alert program just before it was needed.
NSC staff is wearing masks and distancing.
Politico says Congress is struggling to be tech savvy
Prof Gavin says pandemic exposes weaknesses in national security education.
Last year, Congress asked for a report on what was needed to offset China. IndoPaCom’s report is now in.
Outgoing HASC leader Thornberry has ideas for defense reform.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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