The Covid-19 blame game

Trump fires yet another government watchdog; more than 100 countries want an investigation into the global response to and origins of Covid-19. Tonight's Sentences was written by Catherine Kim. TOP NEWS The latest on Trump's firing spree Win McNamee/Getty Images - President Donald Trump announced late Friday that he was firing State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, which fits into a concerning pattern of the president ousting government watchdogs that he deems disloyal. [[Politico / Meredith McGraw and Nahal Toosi](] - Trump was vague about the reasoning behind Linick's removal in his letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and simply stated he "no longer" had the "fullest confidence" in the inspector general. He added that Linick would be replaced with Stephen Akard, an ally of Vice President Mike Pence. [[USA Today / Deirdre Shesgreen](] - Top Democrats think Linick's ousting is because he opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for allegedly making a political appointee perform personal tasks for him such as walking his dog and picking up his dry cleaning. A senior State Department official confirmed that Pompeo recommended Linick's removal. [[CNN / Zachary Cohen, Manu Raju, and Jennifer Hansler](] - Linick was also investigating the president's efforts to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, according to Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. [[Politico / Andrew Desiderio](] - There's also a possibility that Trump had been planning to remove Linick since the impeachment proceedings because he had handed over documents from Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, to Congress. Linick wouldn't be the first, as many officials that were key witnesses during the impeachment hearings ended up losing their posts. [[Vox / Zeeshan Aleem](] - Linick's ousting fits into a troubling trend of Trump firing nonpartisan government watchdogs that aren't loyal to his political agenda, and Democrats are threatening that such retaliation is unlawful. [[Guardian / Tom McCarthy](] - In May, Trump fired Christi Grimm, the principal deputy inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services, after her office released a report that highlighted the US's poor response to Covid-19. In April, he fired two other inspectors general: Michael Atkinson, the IG for the intelligence community that first triggered the impeachment hearings, and Glenn Fine, the acting inspector general for the Defense Department who would have overseen coronavirus spending. [[NYT / Catie Edmondson and Michael D. Shear](] - Government ethics experts are worried because Trump's firing spree –– which fits into an authoritarian governance strategy –– could ultimately lead to less oversight and more corruption. [[Vox / Zeeshan Aleem](] The global push for a coronavirus investigation - More than 100 countries are pushing for an independent investigation into the World Health Organization's response to Covid-19 as well as the origin and spread of the virus. [[BBC](] - The resolution, led by the European Union and Australia, needs the support of two-thirds of WHO's 194 members states –– 129 countries –– at the 73rd World Health Assembly, being held virtually today and tomorrow. [[The Hill / Joseph Guzman](] - This resolution follows an earlier draft proposed by Australia that singled out China, which angered Beijing. The newly updated version contains softer language: No individual countries are named, as the focus has shifted to "the (WHO)-coordinated international health response to Covid-19." [[CNN / James Griffiths](] - It's unlikely, however, that Chinese President Xi Jinping will be able to dodge scrutiny as countries seem determined to look into the origins of the virus and send an independent probe into China –– especially because of claims that the country had hidden information about Covid-19 early on in the outbreak. [[Business Insider / Tom Porter](] - Xi said that he supports an investigation but it should wait until after pandemic passes. He also defended China's early response to the virus, saying the country acted with "openness, transparency and responsibility." [[NPR / Bill Chappell](] - During the assembly, Xi also directed attention to China's support for the global community during the pandemic –– a move that some have evaluated as a way for China to shape the narrative of Covid-19 in its favor. This includes financing the research and development of vaccines, helping African countries respond to the virus, and helping keep supply lanes around the world open. [[CNN / Rob Picheta](] - The global support for the assembly resolution, however, indicates that it's getting harder for China to keep up this narrative, especially when the US continues to play the blame game. [[BBC](] MISCELLANEOUS A Covid-19 vaccine trial by Moderna — although in its very early stages, and involving just a handful of people — showed promising results. [[NYT / Denise Grady](] - Cellphone data shows that anti-lockdown protesters travel up to hundreds of miles to attend rallies –– which means they could spread the virus far and wide and spark a new outbreak of cases. [[Guardian / Jason Wilson](] - During an online speech to celebrate students graduating from historically black colleges and universities, former President Obama also took the time to criticize US leaders' response to Covid-19. [[Associated Press / Jill Colvin](] - The Great Lakes have experienced dramatic high and low levels of water for the past decade, and scientists don't quite know why. What they do know, however, is that the uncertainty is making it difficult for communities to prepare for the potential devastation caused by the lakes' next turn. [[Popular Science / Molly Glick](] - Hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil's largest city, are struggling to keep up with the growing number of Covid-19 cases and are expected to reach full capacity in the next two weeks. President Jair Bolsonaro, however, continues to dismiss the threat posed by the virus. [[CNN / Rob Picheta, Vasco Cotovio, and Shasta Darlington](] VERBATIM "The assault on the [inspector generals] is late-stage corruption, and Trump’s kicking down one of the last bulwarks that stand between us and the burgeoning corruption-driven authoritarianism." [[Walter Shaub, the former White House ethics chief who resigned in 2017, on Linick's ouster](] LISTEN TO THIS Mariana Mazzucato on her "plan to fix capitalism." [[Spotify / Ezra Klein](] [Read more from Vox](#) [The president’s job is to manage risk. But Trump is the risk.]( [Women are burned out at work and at home]( [After the coronavirus pandemic, group fitness will never be the same]( [Which lockdown policies actually slowed the spread of Covid-19?]( [How Anthony Fauci became the face of the pandemic — and its merch]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.