Today's Headlines and Commentary

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will hold an open hearing in person on Tuesday to consider the president’s nomination of Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas for director of national intelligence, according to the Washington Post. The livestream is available on Lawfare here.

A coronavirus model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington is now predicting that 134,000 people will die of COVID-19 in the U.S., almost doubling its previous prediction, reports CNN. The sharp increase is tied to recent reopenings and relaxed social distancing restrictions in some states. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the death toll in the U.S. rose to 69,000 yesterday, writes the Wall Street Journal.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham invoked the state’s Riot Control Act last week to lock down the city of Gallup, according to the New York Times. The action comes as the coronavirus outbreak worsens in the nearby Navajo Nation, the country’s largest Native American reservation.

The Supreme Court heard its oral arguments by teleconference on Monday on a trademark dispute case, says the Post. This was the first time that the public could listen to oral arguments live on a remote basis.

On Monday evening, the Senate held its first roll-call vote since March 25, reports Politico. Most staff members and reporters kept masks on, but not all senators strictly followed the same health guidelines.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said authorities in the country arrested two U.S. citizens among a group of “mercenaries” on Monday after an alleged failed coup attempt over the weekend, reports the Associated Press. Maduro blamed the Trump administration and the Colombian government for the attacks, both of which have denied any involvement.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Nicholas Rasmussen and Margaret Taylor suggested eleven potential questions for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to ask during an open hearing on Tuesday to consider the president’s nomination of Rep. John Ratcliffe for director of national intelligence.

Steve Slick called for submissions to the sixth annual competition for the Bobby R. Inman award on student research and writing in topics related to intelligence and national security from the Intelligence Studies Project at the University of Texas at Austin.

Michel Paradis considered whether there might be a major change to the military justice system in the near future.

Benjamin Della Rocca, Samantha Fry, Masha Simonova and Jacques Singer-Emery compiled all of the emergency authorities that a subset of states and territories possesses to address COVID-19.

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