President Donald Trump is still in the midst of doing a clean up of personnel within the government. His latest clear up was made recently when he withdrew his nomination of Elaine McCusker.
The Washington Times reports that Trump withdrew his nomination of McCusker for a post at the Pentagon. The White House did not disclose the exact reason why her nomination was withdrawn, but Democrats in Congress said that this was another act of retaliation towards those who were involved in Trump’s impeachment trials. McCusker questioned Trump’s temporary withholding of financial assistance to Ukraine, which triggered the impeachment process.
According to Democrat Senator Jack Reed, who is also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, “Elaine McCusker is another casualty of the Trump administration’s efforts to purge public servants who put country over fealty to the president.” Reed continued to explain that the withdrawal of her nomination is “collateral damage by a president who has vindictively purged career national security professionals caught up in the impeachment inquiry.” Reed noted that McCusker is a prominent public servant with decades of experience within the Department of Defense.
Trump allegedly withheld the millions in Congress-appointed aid to Ukraine, pressuring the Ukrainian officials to conduct an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Witnesses had also testified to this allegation during the impeachment trials. However, the Senate voted to acquit Trump of both articles of impeachment. Since then, Trump has dismissed the witnesses from their positions as a way to only keep around those who are loyal to him.
Meanwhile, Trump is set to speak at the 2020 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition. The president will be addressing the attendees on the 9th of March, and he will be the first active president to become a speaker at the event.
Trump’s address will touch on aspects of digital health, including interoperability and innovation. His attendance will also likely mean that there will be an announcement regarding the final rules on information blocking as well as patient access from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. The administration’s response to the coronavirus as well as updates regarding what their task force intends to do may also be revealed at the event.