Trump news: President preparing to sign executive order keeping undocumented immigrants off census as Pentagon bans Confederate flag

Officials condemn federal officers using 'authoritarian' force in Oregon as coronavirus infections continue surge across South

Mark Zuckerberg says Dr. Fauci is being 'quite generous in your description of the government’s response here'

Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order that would prevent states from counting undocumented immigrants in their census, according to a Politico report confirmed by The Independent. The order could potentially undercounting significant parts of the US and depriving federal spending and congressional seats from those areas. It's likely to be challenged in court.

Unidentified federal border control officers have been deployed to Portland, Oregon in recent days to indiscriminately arrest protesters and forced them into unmarked vehicles, as Department of Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf condemned protesters "violent anarchists" while releasing a list of crimes that mainly amounted to graffiti.

Portland's mayor has demanded the president withdraw the troops, and Washington officials are outraged, liking the show of federal force to an "authoritarian" measure, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley said.

The president – who has falsely and repeatedly accused his Democratic rival of endorsing efforts to "defund" police in a campaign bid to pin recent unrest on Democrats – snapped at Fox News host Chris Wallace in an interview to air on Sunday after the president has pressed to prove his claims.

Pentagon officials meanwhile have banned Confederate battle flags completely from US military installations despite the president's defence of the symbol as "free speech" amid growing calls to remove the icons from public spaces.

Coronavirus infections continue to surge across the US, with daily cases Thursday reaching at least 77,255. That figure is nearly triple the daily cases discovered three weeks ago. In a White House document obtained by Centre for Public Integrity, 18 states are in the coronavirus "red zone".

Florida has seen its fourth consecutive day with more than 100 deaths, as daily cases there top 11,000. The World Health Organisation also recorded a record-high number of daily cases, as global infections near 14 million. Nearly 139,000 people in the US have died from Covid-19-related illness, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The Trump administration has blocked the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention from appearing at a House committee discussing school reopening plans, as the White House pushes states to reopen within weeks despite a raging public health crisis and no clear guidance for managing outbreaks, as teachers and school staff brace for spikes in infections.

This week, the administration directed hospital systems to send crucial coronavirus reporting data to a central Washington database under the Department of Health and Human Services – not the CDC. Researchers and health officials fear that White House-controlled data will not reflect the growing crisis but become a political cudgel.

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Key Points

• Trump to sign executive order keeping undocumented immigrants off census
• Pentagon bans Confederate flag from military installations
• 18 states in coronavirus 'red zone' as cases surge
• Trump's niece claims she heard president say the n-word
• US coronavirus daily cases over 77,000

[17 July 2020 23:10 · Alex Woodward]

Florida governor won't close gyms because 'if you're in good shape, you have a low likelihood' of coronavirus symptoms

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – whose state has seen at least 100 deaths a day for four consecutive days – refuses to close gyms amid the pandemic "partially because if you look, you talk to any physician, particularly people under 50, if you're in good shape, you have a very, very low likelihood of ending up in significant condition" from Covid-19.

The state has seen a dramatic spike in cases in recent weeks, with more than 11,000 cases reported daily.

Note: Of course, being physically healthy does not guarantee you are safe from experiencing coronavirus symptoms, nor does it mean you can't transmit the virus to other people.

[17 July 2020 23:57 · Alex Woodward]

Trump responds to allegations in several recently released books about him: 'I am the ultimate member of The Book of the Month Club'

Donald Trump – subject of several recently released tell-all books from people close to him – has called his niece, author Mary Trump, "a seldom seen niece who knows little about me" who wrote "untruthful" things about him, though he also accused her of violating an NDA.

On former national security chief John Bolton: a "war-mongering fool" who "badly needed credibility" and violated his NDA to "make a few dollars." (Notably, the president didn't appear to question the veracity of his claims, at least this time.)

"Many books have been written about me, some good, some bad," the president said. "Both happily and sadly, there will be more to come!"

[18 July 2020 00:24 · Alex Woodward]

House committee to rein in Trump's 'quid pro quo' pardon powers following Roger Stone commutation

  House Judiciary chair Jerrold Nadler has announced several measures aimed at preventing Donald Trump from serving pardons or commutations to his allies after the president commuted the prison sentence of campaign aid Roger Stone.

The first measure (the Abuse of the Pardon Power Prevention Act) orders the Department of Justice to provide Congress with materials related to pardoned offences "if the president uses the powers of his office to shield himself and his family from federal investigations."

Another measure (the No President is Above the Law Act) will "pause the clock on the statute of limitations for any crimes" the president  may have committed. "Re-election should not be a get-out-of-jail-free card," Nadler said.

“These are commonsense, good government reforms made necessary by this president’s conduct but applicable to anyone who may hold the office in the future.  In this country, no one is above the law—not President Trump, and not presidents to come.”

Mr Nadler said that “President Trump and his friend Roger Stone did what they said they would do. Stone misled federal investigators, intimidated a witnesses, and was convicted for obstruction of justice — but would not testify to the President’s wrongdoing. In exchange, President Trump made sure that Stone will never spend a day in prison ... This quid pro quo is unacceptable.Congress must act."

The measures will be introduced on Thursday.

[18 July 2020 00:56 · Alex Woodward]

We're closing today's live coverage of the Trump administration.

Stay tuned with The Independent.