Republicans

Atlanta’s Fox News affiliate reports: Given the favorable data, Gov. Brian Kemp said that gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, beauty shops and salons, barbershops, body art studios, and more would be able to open Friday, April 24. Kemp said the reopening of these businesses “would not be business-as-usual” and would require companies to implement changes to ensure sanitation mandates and …

Charleston’s The State reports: South Carolinians will be able to once again shop in-person at some of the state’s retail stores. Gov. Henry McMaster is expected on Monday to lift restrictions he placed weeks ago on some retail stores in the state, including clothing, furniture and jewelry stores. Under the governor’s upcoming directive, department stores and flea markets can reopen …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump on Sunday admitted he’s still holding a grudge against Mitt Romney, the only GOP senator to be left off a congressional task force on reopening the U.S. economy during the coronavirus pandemic. Trump was asked by a reporter at Sunday’s coronavirus briefing at the White House whether leaving Romney off the list meant the president …

“When you have government telling you that your business is essential or non-essential, yours is non-essential and someone else’s is essential, we have a problem there. “I mean, that’s no different than Nazi Germany where you had government telling people either you were an essential worker or a non-essential worker, and non-essential workers got put on a train. “You can’t …

The Miami Herald reports: As Florida’s elder care facilities are becoming increasingly lethal incubators of the novel coronavirus, state officials revealed for the first time that 303 facilities in 45 counties have staff or residents who have tested positive for the deadly respiratory infection. The facilities were named in a list released by the Florida Department of Health after Gov. …

The New York Times reports: Always one to start a revolt, Representative Thomas Massie is now facing one down — from his own colleagues — less than two months away from his election. Mr. Massie, a libertarian from Kentucky known for his contrarian streak, last month drew the wrath of Democrats, Republicans and President Trump when he objected to the …

The Washington Examiner reports: The Republican National Committee has no plans to scale down the August convention to renominate President Trump, according to Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. McDaniel said the RNC is confident that a four-day convention set to begin Aug. 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and draw thousands from across the country would not be interrupted. “We are full steam …

The Daily Beast reports: Embattled Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) waved off the firestorm of controversy over stock trades she made following Senate coronavirus briefings, telling Fox News on Friday that the criticism she’s received is nothing more than a “socialist attack.” Noting that Loeffler had appeared on their program last month to deny any wrongdoing, America’s Newsroom co-anchor Sandra Smith …

The Miami Herald reports: When the Miami Herald sought information from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office last month about COVID-19 deaths in the epicenter of Florida’s coronavirus outbreak, attorneys for the state health department moved to block the records from becoming public. Emails and phone conference appointments obtained through a public records request show that, while medical examiners across Florida …

Politico reports: Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has spent nearly $200,000 in taxpayer funds renting an office from a longtime friend, adviser, campaign donor and legal client. Both men said in separate interviews Gaetz paid below market rent for the space — although Gaetz later shifted, saying the rent was “at or below market rate.” House rules explicitly state such …

The Hill reports: Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) is the only Republican senator not on a congressional task force created by the White House to study reopening parts of the country shuttered by the coronavirus. A list released by the White House on Thursday afternoon of the “Opening Up America Again Congressional Group” included nearly 70 senators, including all 52 of …

USA Today reports: Sen. John Kennedy said Thursday that restrictive measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus are not worth the risk of economic collapse, even if that means more people become infected. “We’ve got to open this economy,” the Louisiana Republican told Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “If we don’t, it’s going to collapse. And if the …

The Miami Herald reports: The decades-long quest of Florida elder-care facilities to secure greater protections against negligence lawsuits may get a boost from the unlikeliest of events: a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that is ravaging their residents. A trade group for Florida’s nearly 700 nursing homes is asking Gov. Ron DeSantis to extend the state’s sovereign immunity provisions to the industry and …

The Dallas Morning News reports: A state judge said Wednesday afternoon that all voters in Texas afraid of contracting COVID-19 through in-person voting should be allowed to vote by mail during the pandemic. State District Judge Tim Sulak said he will issue a temporary injunction allowing voters who fear catching the new coronavirus to qualify for mail-in voting through the …

Vox reports: Kentucky’s heavily Republican legislature voted Tuesday to require voters to show a government-issued photo ID, overriding Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto in the process. Meanwhile, if a Kentucky voter heads to the state’s webpage hoping to learn how to obtain such an ID, they will encounter a message telling them ID-issuing offices are closed. Strict voter ID laws …

The New York Post reports: South Dakota’s coronavirus cases have begun to soar after its governor steadfastly refused to mandate a quarantine. The number of confirmed cases in the state has risen from 129 to 988 since April 1 — when Gov. Kristi Noem criticized the “draconian measures” of social distancing to stop the spread of the virus in her …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday defended declaring professional wrestling an essential service and raised the possibility of holding other televised sporting events in empty venues as people shelter at home amid the coronavirus pandemic. DeSantis said people are “starved” for new entertainment, a day after it was reported he gave the green light to the …

NBC News reports: Reopening the economy is preferable to preventing a new wave of coronavirus deaths, a member of Congress from Indiana said Tuesday. “It is policymakers’ decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils,” Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth told radio station WIBC-FM of Indianapolis. “It is …

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 …