Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Oil-producing nations on Sunday agreed to the largest production cut ever negotiated, as Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States all seek to stabilize oil prices, writes the New York Times. The plan will cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day in May and June—close to 10 percent of the world’s output—but may not be enough to bolster prices as the coronavirus outbreak decreases the demand for oil.

Public health experts on Sunday debated the question of whether to reopen sectors of the U.S. economy by the May 1 target set by the President reports the Washington Post. Several Trump administration officials cautioned during the talks that the goal set by the President may not be prudent.

Aides to President Trump are debating moves to punish the World Health Organization amidst the COVID-19 pandemic writes Politico. The aides have discussed cutting off U.S. funding and trying to establish an alternative institution. The President has complained that the W.H.O. has been too supportive of Beijing despite the U.S. being its top donor.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said that rates of hospitalization and other data suggest that the spread of the virus has slowed in New York, according to the New York Times. The total number of people killed by the coronavirus in the state is currently 9,385.

China has imposed strict restrictions on the publication of academic research on the origins of COVID-19, reports CNN. Under the new policy, studies on the origin of the virus must be approved by central government officials.

President Trump has officially named Marshall Billingslea as his special envoy for arms control, where he is expected to spearhead efforts to reach a nuclear agreement with Russia and China, according to the Hill. Billingslea was previously nominated to be an undersecretary of State, but his confirmation stalled over his role in the George W. Bush administration interrogation program.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was released from the hospital on Sunday after being admitted with COVID-19 and spending multiple nights in an intensive care unit, writes NPR.

President Trump may withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, an agreement intended to reduce the risk of accidental war by allowing its 35 signatories—including the U.S. and Russia—to fly unarmed observation flights over each other’s territories with the intention of providing transparency about military activities, reports the Hill. Four top House and Senate Democrats criticized the ongoing review of the treaty undertaken by the administration, and claimed that withdrawing “in the midst of a global health crisis is not only shortsighted, but also unconscionable.”

The Justice Department has identified omissions or “material errors” in two applications for national security wiretaps, according to a newly unsealed document, writes the Washington Post. In both cases, the department reported the mistakes after the fact but concluded that there was still probable cause to believe the surveillance targets were agents of a foreign power.

New air missile defense systems are now protecting U.S.-led coalition forces at military bases in Iraq where troops have been attacked by Iranian-backed insurgents in recent months, according to the Associated Press.

Israel’s president on Sunday rejected a request from Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz for a two-week extension of talks to form a coalition, reports the Associated Press. Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now have until midnight tonight to reach a power-sharing agreement—a deadline which reportedly places Netanyahu in a stronger negotiating position. If talks fail to yield a new government, the country could see its fourth consecutive election in just over a year.

President Trump signaled his frustration with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, after the doctor said more lives could have been saved from COVID-19 if social distancing measures had been implemented sooner, writes the New York Times. The President retweeted a post from former Republican Congressional candidate Deanna Lorraine calling for Dr. Fauci to be fired.

A sailor aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier has become the first on the ship to die from COVID-19, according to the BBC. Over 500 sailors on the ship have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Raphael S. Coen argued that the novel coronavirus will not stop globalization.

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring an interview with Stan Brand, who formerly served as the general counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, on the state of congressional oversight and subpoena power.

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