Pool Reports of June 26, 2020

In town pool report #1: Good morning

Good morning from a hot and sunny White House.

Pool has been tested and wiped down his seat.

There are no changes to POTUS's published schedule so far.

In-town pool report #2: No departure

You'll have seen the new WH guidance. No POTUS Bedminster trip. Will see if there is more information.

In town pool report #3: More on Bedminster.

White House giving no details on reason for cancellation of Bedminster weekend.

On record, I asked Judd Deere if it was to do with NJ's Arizona travel restrictions.

"It has nothing to do with that," he said.

In town pool report #4: lunch lid

We have lunch lid until 13:30 (excepting supplemental pool which is currently covering American Workforce Policy Advisory Board Meeting)

In town pool report #5: Pool gathering

Pool is gathering at Palm Room doors for POTUS remarks to the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board roundtable.

Supplemental pool has already sent details of participants.

Event is being livestreamed here: https://whitehouse.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c97630621baff8c44f...

Will bring you additional color and detail.

In town pool report #6: Potus arrival

Potus entered East Room at 14:55 to a round of applause and began speaking. "Busy time," he said getting into coronavirus straight away.

In town pool report #7: POTUS on executive order

POTUS says he will shortly be signing Executive Order designed to replace degree-based hiring with skills based hiring.

"The federal government will no longer be narrowly focused on where you went to school."

Potus spoke for about seven minutes then handed over to daughter Ivanka Trump.

"It's been a labor of love," said Potus after she handed back after a couple of minutes. "Ivanka loves helping people."

POTUS then invited others around table to say a few words.

In town pool report #8: POTUS

POTUS signed first executive order at 15:19.

"This is a big deal. Congratulations to everybody in the room."

Holds it up to a round of applause

Followed by second executive order.

"We have pens for everybody."

Departs at 15:20. Did not respond to shouted questions.

Supplemental Pool — #1

Hello from the East Room ahead of the scheduled 1pm American Workforce Policy Advisory Board meeting with Ivanka & co. Will update when attendees arrive.

On Background from a White House Official:
On Friday, June 26, the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board will meet for the sixth time in the East Room of the White House. Members of the National Council for the American Worker will also join the Board Meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting, the President will close with remarks and a signing of two executive orders.

The first executive order extends the President's National Council for the American Worker and the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board for another year.

The second order directs federal agencies to replace degree-based hiring with skills-based hiring to make the hiring process more equitable and meritorious. This will expand career opportunities for more Americans, acknowledge that learning can happen outside of the classroom, and ensure Federal hiring managers are better identifying job candidates with the specific skills needed to succeed on the job.

Expected Participants:
· Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the President
· Secretary Wilbur Ross, U.S. Department of Commerce
· Secretary Eugene Scalia, U.S. Department of Labor
· Administrator Jovita Carranza, Small Business Administration
· Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Department of Treasury
· Secretary Betsy DeVos, U.S. Department of Education
· Acting Director Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget
· Under Secretary for Benefits Dr. Paul Lawrence, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Chris Liddell, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
· Acting Director Brooke Rollins, Domestic Policy Council
· Director Larry Kudlow, National Economic Council
· Commissioner Bill Beach, Bureau of Labor Statistics
· Acting Director of OPM Michael Rigas, Office of Management and Budget
· Tyler Goodspeed, Member of the Council of Economic Advisers
· Director Kelvin Droegemeier, Office of Science and Technology Policy
· Jay Box, President, Kentucky Community and Technical College System
· Marillyn Hewson, Executive Chairman, Lockheed Martin
· Eric Holcomb, Governor, Indiana
· Michael Piwowar, Executive Director, Milken Institute
· Scott Pulsipher, President, Western Governors University
· Kim Reynolds, Governor, Iowa
· Scott Sanders, Executive Director, National Assoc. of State Workforce Agencies
· Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President & CEO, Society for Human Resource Management
· Sebastian Thrun, Founder, President, and Executive Chairman, Udacity
· Marianne Wanamaker, Professor, University of Tennessee
· Ginni Rometty, CEO, IBM

Supplemental pool report #2 — arrival + updated guest list

around 12:55pm, attendees entered the East Room for the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board roundtable.

Ivanka initially wore a mask and kept it on while greeting IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Lockheed Martin Executive Chairman Marillyn Hewson. She removed the mask after sitting down. Likewise, the majority of attendees wore masks while entering and removed them upon taking their seats. Most chairs at the roundtable are arranged in pre-pandemic style, at most a few feet apart.

After Ivanka's introduction, she gave her co-chair Wilbur Ross the floor. He thanked Ivanka for her “visionary leadership” on the advisory board.

An update to the list of expected attendees provided earlier from a White House official. The following people are not here:

· Under Secretary for Benefits Dr. Paul Lawrence, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
· Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President & CEO, Society for Human Resource Management
· Acting Director of OPM Michael Rigas, Office of Management and Budget
· Tyler Goodspeed, Member of the Council of Economic Advisers
· Director Kelvin Droegemeier, Office of Science and Technology Policy

Supplemental pool report #3 — some restlessness at the roundtable

scenes of some restlessness at the roundtable during the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board meeting in the East Room as members discuss the recovery.

Domestic Policy Council Director Brooke Rollins is checking her phone under the table. Meanwhile, Western Governors University President Scott Pulsipher isn't attempting to conceal his preoccupation with his phone. At one point, he put on a black face mask, and then he removed it moments later.

Ivanka is drinking what appears to be green tea. She sometimes uses her pen to move her hair out of her face. Almost every speaker has thanked Ivanka for her leadership. Ivanka's white and navy blue dress is by Suzannah, a London-based designer. It retails for $2,077.

As acting OMB director Russell Vought, whom Ivanka calls Russ (I'm sure many people call him this), addresses the group, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Bill Beach quietly chat across the table.

Every once in a while, Wilbur Ross taps his finger on the table and slowly takes a sip of water from the glass before him.

Just before 2:20 pm, Larry Kudlow quietly enters the room.

The president is scheduled to arrive at 2:40 pm.

Supplemental pool report #4 — Kudlow reenergizes the group

After Ivanka excused herself to go retrieve President Trump, Larry Kudlow took over.

Unlike every other speaker at the meeting, Kudlow stood up to address the group. He spoke with one hand on his hip and one hand gesturing in the air. He called himself “the quintessential optimist” when it comes to the economic recovery. “It's in my DNA,” he said.

But he also expressed some concern about images he's seen of young people going out to bars right now. He said he's too old for that.

Although he said it was important to wear face masks, he was not wearing one himself, and he was surrounded by people who were also not wearing face masks.

Everyone paid attention to Larry and when he stopped speaking, he was applauded. He's a delight!

Still waiting for POTUS.

Supplemental pool report #5 — quotes (and, by popular demand, more Kudlow)

Below are some quotes from the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board roundtable this afternoon.

Ivanka Trump said that despite the “new realities” established by the “rapid economic and social changes brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic,” the Advisory Board has continued its mission to address the “changing nature of work” and “the future of automation.” She said the pandemic has brought new urgency to the mission.

Ross said that he's been traveling and talking to “executives, workers, trade groups, and community leaders” and “everywhere I go, there is optimism about the U.S. economy and its near and longer term prospects.” Ross said recent economic indicators “thankfully” reflect this optimism, and specifically he wanted to highlight “the amount of money Americans are saving. The amount of dry powder they have.”

Ross compared recent numbers to 2009 numbers and said, “the consumer is in far better shape than ever before.”

“Unlike in 2008, 2009, our financial system is sound,” Ross said, “and as enterprises reopen, Americans will be pumping money back into local economies and furloughed workers will be hired.”

Rometty said IBM supports the skills first EO. She called it, “a critical step for expanding opportunity for so many Americans.”

And here's Kudlow's meditation on the literal shape of the recovery: “If you haven't heard, we are rather more in the V-shaped recovery. There's a lot of iterations of that. I've heard about V's, L's, U's.”

Kudlow said he was speaking to a think tank, the name of which he couldn't recall, “and General David Petraeus asked me, ‘What about a square root?' And I had to really think about that. And then I figured it out. Right, got it—no. We're gonna be in the V-shaped recovery. The V-shaped camp. Some years we go to summer camp, this year we go to the V-shaped recovery camp. And actually it's working pretty well in the early goings... Really, almost every indicator is showing a V. Whether that continues remains to be seen.”

The White House live-streamed this event and the footage is available on the White House website. The president's remarks were sent out by today's in-town pooler.

May we all be lucky enough to carry Kudlow's energy into the weekend.