Trump Checkmates Pelosi, Ends Nancy's New Investigation By Refusing To Let Task Force Members Testify From News Thud" While Nancy Pelosi keeps the House out of DC and refuses to allow for remote voting, Trump, the Senate, and even the Supreme Court are all hard at work. So it is ironic that Pelosi is rattling her investigative saber again on a brand new probe she wants of Trump yet remains toothless with no House to vote for anything let alone try to override Trump and get task force members to testify. The left will make a big deal of Trump’s new rules but before Pelosi can complain she needs to return to work first. “With April guidance expiring and Congress preparing to come back into session, the Administration has provided agencies with updated guidance for how to approach hearing requests. This guidance is intended to last through May, but may be amended in the interim if Task Force duties allow,” the White House stated in the internal memo blocking Fauci and others from testifying in May. “For the month of May, no Task Force members, or key deputies of Task Force members, may accept hearing invitations. Exceptions may be made only with the express approval of the White House Chief of Staff,” the White House continued. From RealClearPolitics: The White House last week blocked Dr. Anthony Fauci from testifying in the House this Wednesday. And now, according to an internal document obtained by RealClearPolitics and three senior administration officials, the administration will bar the coronavirus task force, which includes Fauci, from testifying in Congress for the next month.   “For the month of May, no task force members, or key deputies of task force members, may accept hearing invitations,” reads a White House memo outlining the updated guidance. Exceptions are in order, but only at “the express approval of the chief of staff.”  The updated guidance comes as the Senate returns and the House pursues a “hybrid” return to regular order and the global health pandemic continues to ravage the world. The White House expects that returning lawmakers will have an insatiable appetite for hearings. The administration is also sore after what happened last week.   Fauci was summoned to appear before the House Appropriations Committee for a hearing that ultimately never happened. Administration officials tell RCP they don’t have a problem with task force members testifying (and, on a one-time basis, Fauci has been cleared to testify before a Senate committee later this week). But they bristle at what they characterize as political gamesmanship. Some complain that the hearing was a stunt, and officials fear that partisan bickering distracts from tackling the pandemic.  A White House spokesman explained last week why Fauci would not be making the commute to the House. “While the Trump administration continues its whole-of-government response to COVID-19, including safely opening up America again and expediting vaccine development, it is counterproductive to have the very individuals involved in those efforts appearing at congressional hearings,” said deputy press secretary Judd Deere.  “We are committed to working with Congress to offer testimony at the appropriate time,” he added. From The Hill: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday blasted the White House’s move to restrict officials leading the nation’s coronavirus response from testifying before Congress, suggesting that the Trump administration “might be afraid of the truth.” https://newsthud.com/trump-checkmates-pelosi-ends-nancys-new-investigation-by-refusing-to-let-task-force-members-testify/