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Irish Taoiseach abruptly leaves DC gala attended by Biden after testing positive for Covid-19
CNN
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, known as the Taoiseach, tested positive for Covid-19 Wednesday while attending a gala in Washington, DC, that had just been addressed by President Joe Biden.
Martin left the gathering for The Ireland Funds after his positive result was confirmed, according to PA Media, a UK-based news agency. Irish Ambassador to the US Daniel Mulhall announced the results to the room, a person who attended the dinner told CNN.
A White House official said Biden is not considered a close contact of Martin. The pair was set to hold a bilateral meeting at the White House on Thursday, but the official said the schedule will be changed.
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Amid Democrats’ shock and bickering over how much to respond to President Donald Trump is a deeper question rippling through leaders across the Capitol and across the country: How much should they rely on the same institutional and procedural maneuvers they used during the first Trump term, and how much are they willing to wield their own wrecking balls?
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In less than a month in office the Trump administration has simultaneously dismantled foreign aid programs that support fragile democracies abroad and put on leave federal workers who protect US elections at home in a move that current and former officials say abandons decades of American commitments to democracy.
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Sen. Mitch McConnell was a generational force for the Republican Party — using procedural tactics and political will to stymie much of former President Barack Obama’s agenda, hand President Donald Trump key first-term political victories and deliver a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority. Now he’s the odd man out.