Republicans

The Daily Beast reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) took an unsubtle shot at the president on Tuesday, pushing back on Trump’s claim of having “total” authority over states when it comes to reopening the economy post-coronavirus. In a tweet, Paul said that the U.S. Constitution does not allow the federal government “to become the ultimate regulator of our lives because …

Fox News reports: Sen. Josh Hawley unveiled new legislation this week to allow victims of the coronavirus pandemic to sue the Chinese Communist Party directly for damages by stripping the government of its sovereign immunity. The Missouri Republican said the “Justice for Victims of COVID-19 Act” will hold China’s government responsible for the global pandemic, create a State Department task …

The Florida Times reports: Federal Judge Roger Vinson today in Pensacola denied a request for an emergency preliminary injunction in favor of Mike Huckabee and other Florida beachfront landowners against a Walton County order closing the beach in front of their houses during the coronavirus crisis. The hearing was closed to the public. Only attorneys joined the conference call. But …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Floridians will be keeping their distance and wearing face masks for up to a year until a COVID-19 vaccine exists, Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees said Monday. Rivkees told reporters that Floridians needed to get used to current precautions, such as avoiding crowds of 10 or more and wearing face masks in public. “Until we …

The Bangor Daily News reports: Gov. Janet Mills saw a significant approval bump from last fall in a poll released Monday that showed Mainers are more likely to trust the state government to respond to the coronavirus outbreak than the federal government. The Democratic governor had a 60 percent approval rating in the poll conducted by Critical Insights in March, …

Fox News reports: In his first interview since recovering from COVID-19, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., described what it was like to contract the new coronavirus. “I had an extraordinarily mild case,” Paul, who is also a doctor, said on “Fox & Friends” on Monday. “I had no symptoms, never had a headache, never had a body ache, never had a …

Salon reports: According to an extensively researched report on what makes Senate majority Leader Mitch McConnell tick, New Yorker writer Jane Mayer reveals that the Senate leader has reportedly called Donald Trump “nuts” behind his back — and that he cynically only supports the president because he is left alone to pursue his own agenda while Trump goes through the …

The Associated Press reports: Municipal clerks across Wisconsin on Monday were set to start tallying votes from last week’s chaotic presidential primary, a count that was delayed for several days by the legal struggle over whether to postpone the election due to the coronavirus pandemic. At stake in Tuesday’s election were hundreds of local offices and a critical state Supreme …

The Kansas City Star reports: Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order limiting in-person religious gatherings to fight the coronavirus stands, the state Supreme Court ruled hours before Easter Sunday began. In a narrow ruling, the court said top Kansas Republican leaders didn’t follow the procedures outlined in a resolution approved by the full Legislature when they voted earlier this month …

“If we don’t know who is positive, then how do we know how to help them, pray for them, and how do we know not to visit them, for that matter? “People will say, well, there’s a stigma attached with that today. There may be. But I don’t know why there should be a stigma attached with it. You don’t …

ABC News reports: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is sending President Trump a letter from hundreds of physicians urging him to ease restrictions on malaria medication that has grabbed headlines, despite scant evidence, as a potential treatment for the coronavirus. Johnson said he decided to start gathering signatures for his letter over concerns that absent guidance from the Food and Drug …

Surely these Republicans are wasting their breath: As unemployment soars and the death toll skyrockets, and new polls show support for the president’s handling of the crisis sagging, White House allies and Republican lawmakers increasingly believe the briefings are hurting the president more than helping him. Many view the sessions as a kind of original sin from which all of …

The Associated Press reports: Mitch McConnell’s earliest childhood memory is the day he left the polio treatment center at Warm Springs, Georgia, for the last time. The two crises now bookend McConnell’s years, making the Kentucky Republican an unexpected voice of personal experience and reflection in what he calls these “eerie” times. It’s an unusual role for the famously guarded …

Fox News reports: Many Republicans are campaigning against socialism this year, but a Georgia GOP congressional candidate took her message one step further. Marjorie Greene, a businesswoman running to represent Georgia’s 14th congressional seat, literally blew up a “socialism” sign with explosives to show she’s serious about stopping the far-left policies. Greene, who runs a family-owned construction company, is seeking …

From the editorial board of the Charlotte Observer: A battle is emerging in Washington and across the country about a large-scale expansion of mail-in voting in November’s elections. In North Carolina, the conversation just got especially ugly. In a statement to the Editorial Board on Thursday about expanding mail-in voting here, Senate leader Phil Berger said he was concerned not …

CNN reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis falsely claimed Thursday that the novel coronavirus hasn’t killed anyone under 25 nationwide while discussing a timeline for reopening schools in the state. “This particular pandemic is one where, I don’t think nationwide there’s been a single fatality under 25. For whatever reason it just doesn’t seem to threaten, you know, kids,” DeSantis said …

The Wichita Eagle reports: Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday she will sue legislative leaders after they voted to overturn her executive order limiting in-person church gatherings ahead of Easter. Kelly said she would seek a swift ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court to resolve the matter. “The last thing I want right now is a legal battle,” Kelly said …

Yahoo News reports: Pattie Stockman, wife of former Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), asked President Trump to pardon him amid the coronavirus pandemic so his 10-year sentence for fraud and other white-collar crimes “does not become a death penalty.” Stockman, a conservative firebrand, was convicted in April 2018 of 23 felonies for allegedly misusing $1.25 million in campaign funds for personal …

Politico reports: Sen. Todd Young is calling on World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to appear before a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee to answer questions about the organization’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The WHO in recent days has faced heated criticism from Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump, who argue the organization did not do enough …

The Pensacola News Journal reports: Congressman Neal Dunn has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. According to a Thursday email from Dunn’s office, the Florida congressman was tested after feeling ill on Monday and visited an emergency room out of an abundance of caution. “After meeting CDC criteria, he was tested for COVID-19 and has received notice that the results …