Dan Diamond
@ddiamond.bsky.social
White House reporter at the Washington Post. Focused on politics, policy and public health. Democracy dies in darkness. Find me on Signal: username dan_diamond.01
Trump today suggested the “Ocean of Americas” as a new name for the Atlantic or Pacific. The president also floated the idea of naming an ocean after himself.
Trump suggests ‘Ocean of Americas’ as new name for Atlantic or Pacific
The president also floated the idea of naming an ocean after himself.
washingtonpost.com
Huh. Former GOP governor Bill Graves on why he's endorsing Democrat @hamilton4kansas.bsky.social for Senate: "I’ve just been terribly disappointed and alarmed at the congressional level in the Republicans’ willingness to yield so easily, so readily, to this executive branch."
Mike Walker@newnarrative.bsky.social · 2d agoWhy former Republican governors are backing a Democrat for Senate in a red state www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Trump claims Hollywood stopped using Italian names in mob movies because of discrimination fears. “You weren’t allowed to use Italian names,” Trump says, speaking at an event to honor Christopher Columbus. “I said, no, no, you have to understand the Italians, they love it.”
New: Trump is sending emails to millions of Medicare enrollees today to tout $90 payments and his broader health policies. Democrats and advocates have said the move is an inappropriate stunt. with @iarnsdorf.bsky.social
Trump emails Medicare enrollees about $90 payment, touts his policies
The unusual move, which comes weeks before the midterm elections, has been derided by Democrats and advocates as a stunt.
washingtonpost.com
Trump's midterm message to Italian Americans: remember what I did for Christopher Columbus. After protesters toppled Columbus statues in 2020, Trump has brought one to the White House + plans to publicly celebrate Columbus tomorrow. with @oliviacgeorge.bsky.social
Inside Trump’s push to bring Christopher Columbus to the White House
A statue of the explorer installed at the White House has a long back story, and the president is banking on it resonating with Italian American voters.
washingtonpost.com
U.S. officials and other experts are urging Russia to release more info about reported case of plague lab-leak. @ashishkjha.bsky.social: "We don’t really have a full understanding of what was going on in this facility." with @lenasun.bsky.social and Mary Ilyushina.
U.S. officials seeking details of reported Russian plague death, quarantines
Officials said they need to learn more about the evolving situation before determining the potential threat to the United States.
washingtonpost.com
New: Trump’s abrupt announcement to send $90 payments to seniors by dipping into a Medicare fund has rattled Capitol Hill. One GOP aide told WaPo that lawmakers had planned to use the money to offset funding for community health centers, diabetes programs and other initiatives.
Trump announces plan to send $90 payments to millions of seniors
The White House said the one-time payments would be drawn from a fund set up to improve Medicare.
washingtonpost.com
President Trump suggested to Time magazine that he’s looking into ways to preserve his changes to the Oval Office. He also said he rejected a Secret Service idea to tear down and replace the Oval Office.
Trump says Secret Service wants him to ‘take down’ Oval Office
The president also said he is looking into designating the White House room as a “federal landmark,” potentially preserving his changes.
washingtonpost.com
Amy Klobuchar is out with a new fundraising email based on her Senate clash with Eric Schmitt: “Get your facts straight before calling someone a dirtbag.”
missed this earlier, but an enterprising staffer in Schmitt's office apparently added a picture of the Atlanta Hawks arena to the senator's posterboard
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago🤡 Schmitt beclowns himself 🤡 Schmitt concocted an elaborate conspiracy theory that Smith traveled to Atl for a Hawks game and to collude with Fani Willis, & flashed his "evidence" before accusing Smith of perjury. There's just one problem -- his facts were totally wrong. Here's the whole sequence:
New: Trump last week said that he would convert his planned triumphal arch into a "military complex." But officials steering the project said in a Tuesday meeting that they had no more info and were proceeding with the original arch design as planned. More at @washingtonpost.com →
Officials cast doubt on Trump’s plan for drones, snipers at proposed arch
The arch is still envisioned to be a tourist site, despite the president’s announcement that it would be a “military complex,” administration officials told advocacy groups.
washingtonpost.com
In today’s Post: a visual look at how Trump is physically remaking Washington. His supporters are cheering his renovations and additions. Many DC residents want him to stop. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
How Trump’s sweeping changes are remaking Washington
No modern president has done more to personally reshape the nation’s capital.
washingtonpost.com
Chris Klomp, who’s currently going through Senate confirmation to be deputy HHS secretary, appears to be off the panel.
Dan Diamond@ddiamond.bsky.social · 2w agoRussell Brand, who's awaiting trial in London next month on rape and sexual assault charges, will moderate a panel at DC's MAHA summit tomorrow on reforming a U.S. health agency
New: the White House is reopening part of Lafayette Square, the public park across the street, after fencing it off 8 months ago. White House official tells The Post that Secret Service is balancing public access against security risks to Trump, and a formal update is coming soon.
White House to reopen part of Lafayette Square after eight months
Administration officials are still pursuing plans to build a permanent fence around the park.
washingtonpost.com
Russell Brand, who's awaiting trial in London next month on rape and sexual assault charges, will moderate a panel at DC's MAHA summit tomorrow on reforming a U.S. health agency
Trump vowed to go all-out campaigning for GOP. But first: it’s time for golf and college football.
Trump heads to Texas-Tennessee football game as midterm rallies slide
Trump will attend the Tennessee-Texas college football game on Saturday and the President’s Cup golf tournament on Sunday.
washingtonpost.com
We reported in July that Trump was speeding up his helipad project because he wanted to show it off to Xi. Today Trump gave the Chinese president a 10-minute tour of the project. Trump and the White House have also repeatedly shared video of the tour.
Trump shows off helipad to Xi Jinping, calls him an ‘expert on stone’
The U.S. president was racing to finish the project before his Chinese counterpart visited, The Post previously reported.
washingtonpost.com
Dan Diamond@ddiamond.bsky.social · 3mo agoNew: Trump is speeding up helipad construction, hoping to finish before Xi arrives in September Teams are now working 24/7, adding $900K in cost Trump also remaking part of the White House driveway in multi-million-dollar project More at @washingtonpost.com with Sarah Blaskey, Jonathan O'Connell
New: Trump officials are ending a federally required review of how President Donald Trump’s planned arch would harm historic sites. The move would conclude one of the last remaining steps before Trump can begin construction on the arch.
Trump officials end review of how arch could harm historic sites
A required consultation process with local preservationists is being terminated, a Trump appointee said Thursday.
washingtonpost.com
Since he was born, I’ve sung The Beatles’ “Blackbird” to my son to soothe him to sleep. But now, 3 yrs old, he interrupts me with Qs like: - What is the blackbird’s name? - How did the blackbird get hurt? - Where did it happen? (I told him “Abbey Road” last night, which prompted: where’s that?)
Democrats are again insisting that Trump release the text of his deals with drug companies. @wyden.senate.gov: “Here we are, months later, with six written requests, legislation to compel release, and a Cabinet secretary’s commitment. And I have not seen a single page.”
Democrats again demand Trump’s drug-price contracts following Post report
Lawmakers say they cannot judge the effectiveness of the administration’s initiative to lower drug prices until the contracts are released.
washingtonpost.com
Dan Diamond@ddiamond.bsky.social · 3w agoFor months, Trump has touted his drug-price deals — saying his work should be enough for the GOP to win the midterms. But Trump and his deputies have declined to release the deals' actual text. @publiccitizen.bsky.social sued to get two deals thru FOIA and shared them with The Post.
The National Trust sued to stop Trump's ballroom. He called them "treasonists." Now the preservation group is launching a $10M legal fund to fight Trump's broader changes. The National Trust's CEO: “The ideals and values of historic preservation are being undermined."
National Trust, after battling with Trump, to announce legal defense fund
The preservation group, which sued to stop the White House ballroom, says it will push back against the administration’s changes to historic sites and laws.
washingtonpost.com
I was working in a Whole Foods cafe this week when a store manager sat down at a table next to me, along with a job candidate. He asked a question I've never heard in all my years of job interviews: "How do I know when you get stressed?"
a dream job
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 3w agoA new era of sleep tech tracks your brain waves to gauge your sleep stages. The devices reportedly help you fall or stay asleep by piping sound pulses through your ears that are timed to the movement of your brain waves. Wirecutter tested three of these devices: nyti.ms/4ArDN3l
typos matter
Jesse Eisinger@jeisinger.bsky.social · 3w agoNEW: In ‘24, the FBI sought to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. Then Trump eviscerated the FBI & DOJ public corruption teams. ProPublica unearthed the investigation and you can read it 👇 www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
Trump's new plan to turn his arch into a "military complex" may complicate ongoing review process among the emerging concerns: - safety of drones near National Airport - legality of building a military complex on federal parkland @rephuffman.bsky.social: "This is cartoonishly illegal."
Trump’s plan to militarize proposed arch raises new legal, safety concerns
Aviation safety experts worry about the prospect of drones stored so close to National Airport, while preservationists say a review process can't go forward now.
washingtonpost.com
After banning media outlets, the White House has spent all day teasing the launch of “Trump TV,” a YouTube station promising “top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7.” They begin by showing an 80-day-old Trump speech at Mt Rushmore.
No major TV network will be showing Trump cutting the ribbon on his new White House helipad today. C-SPAN also just said it's out.
In show of unity, rival TV networks collectively pull coverage of Trump after he bans CNN. Fox News’s Washington bureau chief announced the decision.
Major TV networks halt pool coverage of Trump over CNN ban
CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, also said it was suing over the ban, which the president defended as “an assault on the FAKE NEWS.”
washingtonpost.com
Spotted new posters around DC today
Dan Diamond@ddiamond.bsky.social · 3w agoNew: Officials battled over NIH in the Oval Office today, per people familiar. RUSS VOUGHT criticized NIH "woke" spending and floated executive order to review its grants. JAY BHATTACHARYA defended NIH's alignment with Trump. TRUMP appeared to side with Vought. with @rbeggin.bsky.social
