Today in one sentence: More than 200 companies, special interest groups and foreign governments patronized Trump's properties since he took office; Trump’s adult children and their families have cost taxpayers at least $238,000 in room rentals at Trump properties for Secret Service protection since taking office; the Senate Judiciary Committee held the first of four days of confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett; the White House blocked a CDC order requiring all passengers and employees wear masks on planes, trains, buses, and subways, and in airports, stations and depots; and Trump delivered a short speech from the Blue Room balcony overlooking the South Lawn on Saturday after Dr. Sean Conley issued a doctor’s note saying Trump was "no longer considered a transmission risk to others."

1/ More than 200 companies, special interest groups and foreign governments patronized Trump’s properties since he took office. Since 2016, more than 70 advocacy groups, businesses, and foreign governments held events at Trump properties, which were previously held at different locations or new events were developed to be hosted at Trump properties. Religious organizations also hosted prayer meetings, banquets, and tours on Trump properties. Tax records from 2016 show that Mar-a-Lago initiation fees delivered nearly $6 million in revenue, and 60 patrons with interests before the administration brought the Trump family $12 million in business in 2017 and 2018 – nearly all saw their interests advanced by the Trump administration. And, at least two dozen patrons reserved events for 2017 and 2018 at Trump properties had interests involving the administration, and more than 100 companies that wanted something from the federal government spent money at Trump properties. Trump himself has also attended 34 political fundraisers at his properties, which brought in $3 million in revenue. (New York Times)

2/ Trump’s adult children and their families have cost taxpayers at least $238,000 in room rentals at Trump properties for Secret Service protection since taking office. According to Secret Service records, when Eric Trump, Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump have visited Trump properties for family business, Trump’s company charged the Secret Service for rooms agents used on each trip. (Washington Post)

3/ The Senate Judiciary Committee held the first of four days of confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Senator Lindsey Graham, the committee’s chairman, opened the hearing by saying this is “to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court,” and “probably not about persuading each other,” because “all the Republicans will vote yes, all the Democrats will vote no.” After nearly five hours of opening statements by the committee’s members, Barret said judges should not try to legislate from the bench in her opening statement, saying the “courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. The policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the people.” Hearings will resume Tuesday for two rounds of questioning. Outside witnesses will testify on Barrett’s nomination on Thursday. The Judiciary Committee plans to reconvene on Oct. 22 to approve Barrett’s nomination. Barrett’s confirmation would cement conservative control of the nation’s highest court, giving them a 6-3 advantage. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Washington Post / The Guardian / NBC News / ABC News / CBS News / CNN)

  • The American Bar Association rated Judge Amy Coney Barrett as “well qualified” – its highest rating. (CNN)

  • Sen. Mike Lee, who tested positive for COVID-19 less than two weeks ago, appeared in person for Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Lee removed his mask when it was his turn to address the committee. (Politico / NPR / Axios)

4/ The White House blocked a CDC order requiring all passengers and employees wear masks on planes, trains, buses, and subways, and in airports, stations and depots. The order was drafted under the agency’s “quarantine powers” and had the support of the secretary of health and human services, Alex Azar. The White House Coronavirus Task Force, led by Pence, declined to discuss it. Public health officials have said that wearing masks is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus, particularly in crowded, poorly ventilated public places, like transportation venues. (New York Times)

  • Coronavirus cases set a new single-day records in six U.S. states. Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia all had record single-day increases in cases on Friday. (NBC News)

  • Twitter flagged Trump’s tweet claiming he is “immune” from the coronavirus as a violation of “spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19.” (Bloomberg)

  • 😷 Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.”

  • Global: Total confirmed cases: ~37,694,000; deaths: ~1,079,000

  • U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~7,797,000; deaths: ~216,000

  • Source: Johns Hopkins University

  • 💻 COVID-19 Live Blogs: New York Times / Washington Post / CNBC / CNN

5/ Trump delivered a short speech from the Blue Room balcony overlooking the South Lawn on Saturday after Dr. Sean Conley issued a doctor’s note saying Trump was “no longer considered a transmission risk to others” and described the president as “fever-free for well over 24 hours,” noting that “all symptoms improved.” Conley said Trump has met CDC criteria for “the safe discontinuation of isolation.” Calling it a “peaceful protest” in honor of “law and order,” Trump made his first public appearance since he was hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus, telling the crowd: “I’m feeling great!” The speech came two weeks after Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in a ceremony that Dr. Anthony Fauci described as a “super spreader” event. The event was organized by Candace Owens, who has led a “BLEXIT” movement urging Black voters to leave the Democratic Party. BLEXIT paid for the travel and lodging for some guests. Trump spoke for about 15 minutes – shorter than the nearly 30 minutes that officials had advertised – to an estimated audience of 500. More than 2,000 guests had been invited. Late Monday, Conley said Trump tested negative on “consecutive days” for COVID-19 a week after being released from the hospital for treatment of the disease. He did not state which days. (New York Times / NBC News / ABC News / CNN / Politico / CBS News)

  • Trump used the United States Marine Band for the White House event, raising questions about employing the military for political purposes. (Washington Post)

  • Trump proposed the idea of ripping open his button-down shirt to reveal a shirt with the Superman logo as he left Walter Reed Medical Center last week. Trump did not go through with the stunt. (New York Times)

6/ The Trump campaign released a new ad using an out of context Dr. Anthony Fauci quote in an attempt to make it appear as if he is praising Trump’s response to the coronavirus. The nation’s leading infectious disease expert did not consent to being featured in the campaign ad, saying “In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials,” Fauci said. In the ad, Fauci says that he “can’t imagine that anybody could be doing more.” The clip is from an interview with Fox News in March in which he was speaking about the government’s response to the pandemic – not specifically about Trump’s efforts. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said the campaign will continue to run the ad despite Fauci’s objections. The White House, meanwhile, blocked Dr. Fauci – or any of the medical experts on the coronavirus task force – from appearing on ABC’s “This Week” this Sunday. (CNN / NBC News / Politico / Axios)

poll/ 62% of voters say the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold Roe v. Wade, while 24% would want it overturned. 52% say filling Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat should be left to the winner of the presidential election and a Senate vote next year. (ABC News / Washington Post)

poll/ Biden leads Trump by eight percentage points in Michigan and by 10 percentage points in Wisconsin among likely voters. Biden is up six percentage points on Trump in Nevada and is even in Iowa. (New York Times / CBS News / Politico)

poll/ 58% of voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic while 21% say it is under control. Biden holds a 17-point lead over Trump in trust to handle the pandemic with 62% saying they distrust what Trump says about it. (ABC News)

Two years ago today: Day 631: Optics.
Three years ago today: Day 266: Trump Vs. Everybody.