Republicans

Baton Rouge’s Fox News affiliate reports: A tense battle is brewing at the capitol, where the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is looking at a way to overturn the governor’s current stay-at-home order, which expires on May 15. “We’re trying to advocate a balanced approach to safely open that protects both lives and livelihoods,” said Rep. Blake Miguez, …

The Washington Post reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) attended Tuesday’s Senate session without wearing a face mask, declaring that he has immunity from the coronavirus — even though experts remain uncertain as to whether recovered covid-19 patients are actually immune to the disease. Asked earlier Tuesday why he was not wearing a mask, Paul cited the fact that he had …

“DC will never be a state. You mean District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic — Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That’ll never happen. “They want to do that so they pick up two automatic Democrat — you know it’s a 100 percent Democrat, basically — so why would the …

Axios reports: Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), President’s Trump nominee for director of national intelligence (DNI), said at his confirmation hearing Tuesday that every government whistleblower should receive “every protection under the law.” As one of Trump’s fiercest defenders during the impeachment inquiry, Ratcliffe repeatedly sought to undermine the credibility of the Ukraine whistleblower, claiming without evidence that the complaint was …

The Des Moines Register reports: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying group in the country, is endorsing state Sen. Randy Feenstra for the Republican congressional primary nomination against U.S. Rep. Steve King. Feenstra, of Hull, is one of four Republicans challenging King in Iowa’s June 2 primary. King, of Kiron, has represented northwest Iowa in Congress since …

The New Jersey Advance reports: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, saying that “there are going to be deaths no matter what,” called for leaders to allow people to get back to work before we “destroy American way of life” by shutting down during the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on The Daily DC Podcast hosted by CNN’s Dana Bash on Monday, …

Courthouse News reports: A Michigan congressman claims in a suit filed Monday that Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders overstep the boundaries of executive authority and deprive Michigan residents of a republican form of government. U.S. Representative Paul Mitchell III, a Republican who represents the state’s 10th Congressional District, says in the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for …

Hemant Mehta reports at The Friendly Atheist: It’s one thing for random people to complain, but for a government official to reject them sets an awful precedent. It’s why Mike Pence received criticism last week after photos showed him without one at a hospital. At least he’s since apologized. That’s not the case with Ohio State Rep. Nino Vitale, who …

The Washington Post reports: The state of Maryland on Saturday terminated a $12.5 million contract for personal protective equipment with a firm started this spring by two well-connected Republican operatives. State officials said the company, Blue Flame Medical, failed to deliver masks and ventilators as promised and that the matter has been referred to Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh …

The Arizona Republic reports: Sen. Martha McSally has a new campaign ad featuring a cancer survivor who talks about how her “path collided” with McSally, whom she describes as a champion for protecting those with pre-existing medical conditions. The emotional television ad, which started Thursday, doesn’t disclose that the woman worked for McSally’s congressional office and as a campaign staffer …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: State health officials have confirmed an additional 1,000 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing Georgia’s total infections above 27,000. As of noon Thursday, the Georgia Department of Public Health was reporting just over 26,000 confirmed cases. That number now stands at 27,134, according to data released at 12:25 p.m. Friday. At …

NBC News reports: While Americans across the country are canceling weddings, sporting events and music festivals, Trump has insisted to aides that the Republican National Convention — specifically his nationally televised prime-time address — go forward in August, according to five people familiar with the discussions. One plan under consideration is to have only delegates and alternate delegates attend, and …

The Charleston Post & Courier reports: A former top South Carolina business executive and supporter of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has decided to back the Republican incumbent’s Democratic challenger in his 2020 re-election race. Richard Wilkerson, the former chairman and president of Michelin’s Greenville-based North America operations, said he chose to endorse Democrat Jaime Harrison because of his experience working …

CNN reports: Sen. David Perdue, a Georgia Republican up for reelection and a close Trump confidant, issued a blunt warning to GOP activists during an off-the-record conference call this week: Democrats are in position to turn his state blue and take the Senate. “Here’s the reality: The state of Georgia is in play,” Perdue said Monday, according to an audio …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: State officials have stopped releasing the list of coronavirus deaths being compiled by Florida’s medical examiners, which has at times shown a higher death toll than the state’s published count. The list had previously been released in real time by the state Medical Examiners Commission. But earlier this month, after the Tampa Bay Times reported …

Roll Call reports: Michigan Rep. Justin Amash won a fifth term in 2018 by 11 points, but because of his split with Trump and his exit from the GOP, Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales had seen the seat as vulnerable, rating the 3rd District race Tilt Republican. Several Republicans are running in the Aug. 4 primary, including Army veteran …

The Associated Press reports: A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that a Kansas law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote is unconstitutional, upholding a judge’s injunction that had banned its use. A 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Salt Lake City found in two consolidated appeals challenging the Kansas statute that the state law violates the …

The New York Daily News reports: Former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos was released from from an upstate prison Tuesday into home confinement after contracting coronavirus. A federal prosecutor and Skelos’s defense team confirmed the crooked Nassau County pol walked out of FCI Otisville. Ten staff and two inmates at the facility have tested positive for the virus, according …

From an interview with Fox News: Let me just say that the Senate majority has not been a certainty at any point this cycle. We always knew from the beginning, and I’ve said consistently there’s going to be a dog fight. The other thing that’s not new is that we’re being outspent these days. We were outspent in 2016 and …

In today’s chapter of Republican assholery: Kelli Ward, the head of the Republican Party in Arizona, told those planning to protest stay-at-home orders aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 to dress in scrubs and masks on Twitter. Ward also seemed to suggest that some health workers engaging in counterprotests across the country were not really health workers. The tweet …