Republicans

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 …

The Wichita Eagle reports: Easter looming, Kansas Republican leaders on Wednesday revoked Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s order limiting religious gatherings to 10 people as the state’s coronavirus death toll jumped 40 percent. House and Senate leaders — meeting as a body called the Legislative Coordinating Council — voted along party lines to throw out the directive. Their decision came as …

The Daily Beast reports: Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) pledged on Wednesday to liquidate her personal stock holdings amid a firestorm over trades that coincided with non-public Senate briefings on the novel coronavirus. “ Although Senate ethics rules don’t require it, my husband and I are liquidating our holdings in managed accounts and moving into exchange-traded funds and mutual funds,” Loeffler …

TMZ reports: Former U.S. Congressman Paul Broun is turning to pandemic fear-mongering and a gun giveaway in an effort to return to the U.S. House of Representatives. The GOP politician from Georgia’s latest ad leans in hard on the 2nd Amendment, and includes what sounds like a racist dog whistle. In the spot, Broun says warns you might have to …

Politico reports: A statewide stay-at-home directive has sown confusion in Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and his aides telling mayors that the order’s plain language doesn’t mean what it says. Two days after the April 1 order was amended to supersede any “conflicting official action” by local governments, DeSantis aides told mayors that their powers were “not preempted in any …

Talking Points Memo reports: Clad in gloves, a mask and full-length gown, Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos assured voters that it is “incredibly safe to go out” on Election Day despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Vos is one of the main reasons the in-person election went ahead Tuesday, as he and his fellow Republicans fought both delaying the election and Democrats’ attempts …