The Evening: Exec Order Meat Plants, Fauci Urges Caution, Slow Turning and More

Exec Order to Mandate Meat Production Plants Stay Open

President Trump is expected to sign an executive order today mandating that meat production plants remain open to head off a food supply shortage, despite mounting reports of plant worker deaths due to Covid-19. Trump will invoke the Defense Production Act under the order, which will classify the meat production plants as essential infrastructure that must remain open, as the Washington Post reports.

Fauci Urges Caution

As President Trump urged governors to consider reopening schools and praised Texas for a “great job” in beginning to reopen businesses, Dr. Anthony Fauci today renewed his warning that the nation should heed the standards published by the White House two weeks ago, as the NYT reports.

European Reopening Plans

European governments have begun to detail sweeping plans to unlock the continent’s economy, creating a patchwork of rules and guidelines for everything from subway seating to how many students can attend classes in reopened schools, as the WSJ reports.

On the Horizon

"China’s technology ambitions appeared imperiled by Covid-19, but the pandemic is already providing new opportunities for China’s rise as a technology power and global provider of digital infrastructure," write CSIS's Jude Blanchette and Jonathan Hillman.

CSIS’s “On the Horizon” series offers insights into the more fundamental changes we might anticipate for our future social and economic world as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.

CSIS Executive Education

We invite you to apply to Unpacking the Defense Enterprise, a a three-day live, online course exploring defense strategy, budgetary and technical issues, and future challenges and opportunities in the U.S. defense enterprise.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify,” "What's Happening," "Preview," and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

2.6 Billion

Covid-19 has created an almost complete global halt to human mobility. More people are on lockdown globally (2.6 billion) than were alive during World War II.

Source: CSIS, “Longer-term Impacts of Covid-19 on Global Migration”

Critical Quote

“We made a judgment that we will not come back next week but that we hope to come back very soon."

— House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

iDeas Lab

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) officially launched in April 2015, promised transformational gains. Five years later, however, only one-quarter of the announced projects have been completed.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

Optics

(Photo credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times/Pool/Getty Images). Deborah Birx answers a question while meeting with President Trump and Florida Governor Ron De Santis today.

Recommended Reading

“COVID-19 Could Bring Down the Trading System,” by the Peterson Institute’s Chad Bown for Foreign Affairs.

Online Events

Tomorrow, at 10:00 a.m., CSIS will webcast a panel discussion exploring the impacts of the concurrent locust infestation and Covid-19 pandemic on food security in East Africa and South Asia.

After, 10:30 a.m., the Atlantic Council will host an event launching a new report on the current challenges in the U.S.-Iraq relationship.

Later, at 3:00 p.m., Brookings will hold a virtual discussion analyzing the impact of Covid-19 on migrant workers in the Gulf region.

Video

CSIS's Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project, discusses his team's recent report, Space Threat Assessment 2020, and the counterspace capabilities that can threaten U.S. space systems. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

In this episode, Steve Morrison and I speak with Representative Ami Bera (D-CA) about his work on the CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security and his impressions of Covid-19 as both a doctor and an elected representative. He also offered his thoughts on the role of Congress in both responding to this pandemic and preparing for the next one.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“Now I'm in my car
I got the radio down
An' I'm a'yellin' at the kids in the back
'Cause they're bangin' like'a Charlie Watts”

Singer-songwriter John Hiatt is an American treasure in my book. Take his hit from late summer of 1988, “Slow Turning.” It’s a song I turn to over and over. It always puts me in a place where I can gather perspective on things. Turn this one up loud and listen to the lyrics closely—it’s all in there…. This one is for my best bud Baz