Republicans

Mediaite reports: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) pledged “a reckoning” Wednesday morning on Fox & Friends after China according to the GOP senator “unleashed” the coronavirus on the world. Cotton commented on his growing frustration that “things like antibiotics and ibuprofen and Advil are made in China for the most part.” “It’s time to bring a lot more back to the …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: When he learned that a fellow senator had tested positive for COVID-19, Sen. Mitt Romney left the Capitol and ordered up a charter flight home to Utah. Sen. Mike Lee hitched a ride. Romney sat next to Rand Paul at lunch Thursday and had an extended chat Friday; Lee and Paul are close friends in …

The Jackson Free Press reports: “It is my goal to make sure we make good, solid decisions based on experts,” the governor said in an afternoon Facebook Live address, where he took questions from Mississippi residents. “No one at the State Department of Health has recommended that we have a statewide shelter-in-place order,” Reeves added. One Mississippian asked the governor …

Just in from Public Policy Polling: PPP’s newest North Carolina poll finds that a majority of North Carolinians think Richard Burr should resign, and that his approval numbers have plummeted since revelations last week about his stock sales in the wake of the coronavirus. 50% of voters in the state think Burr should resign to 24% who think he should …

The Hill reports: Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick (R) on Monday said that he is willing to take a chance on his survival as a senior citizen for the good of the country’s economy amid the virus outbreak and added that thinks “there are lots of grandparents out there in this country” who feel the same way. “No one reached …

Orlando’s NBC News affiliate reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that he will sign an executive order that will force anyone who travels from New York or New Jersey to Florida to self-isolate for two weeks immediately after they land in the state. While speaking Monday about whether he will lock down the state of Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said …

Axios reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted Monday that he is basing his decisions for coronavirus policy on information from “health care professionals like Dr. Fauci and others, not political punditry.” In an apparent public rebuke, Graham added a link to a Washington Post article about the Trump administration’s signals that it might move to loosen restrictions on businesses at …

The Okeechobee News reports: While most of the Okeechobee County Commissioners urge the public to refer to the health information from the Centers for Disease Control, the Florida Department of Health or their own doctor, one commissioner uses the public commission meetings to share his own ideas about COVID-19. At the March 20 meeting of the Okeechobee County Commissioners, Commissioner …

Just in via press release: Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19. He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person. He expects to be back in the Senate …

Fox News reports: Tucker Carlson grilled Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., on Friday after allegations of insider trading-like behavior were lodged against her and three other U.S. senators. Loeffler’s husband is Jeffrey Sprecher, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Loeffler told Carlson on Friday that her financial advisers make stock buying and selling decisions in her portfolio. “I’m …

Axios reports: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley resigned from Boeing’s board of directors on Thursday in protest of the company asking for federal aid amid fears of mass revenue loss due to the novel coronavirus. Boeing asked for a $60 billion bailout from the federal government on Tuesday. “While I know cash is tight, that is equally true for numerous …

The Hill reports: Conservative Fox News host Tucker Carlson called on Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) to resign after reports that he sold off millions in personal stocks the week before the stock market began its steep dive amid fears of the COVID-19 outbreak. “He didn’t give a prime time address, he didn’t go on television to sound the alarm,” Carlson …

The Daily Beast reports: The Senate’s newest member sold off seven figures’ worth of stock holdings in the days and weeks after a private, all-senators meeting on the novel coronavirus that subsequently hammered U.S. equities. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) reported the first sale of stock jointly owned by her and her husband on Jan. 24, the very day that her …

ProPublica reports: Soon after he offered public assurances that the government was ready to battle the coronavirus, the powerful chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, sold off a significant percentage of his stocks, unloading between $582,029 and $1.56 million of his holdings on Feb. 13 in 29 separate transactions. As the head of the intelligence committee, Burr, a …

“I think it’s worthy of investigation, not that they [China] intentionally released it. I can see them working on some type of chemical and biological warfare and have it escape, have it get out. Again, I don’t think they would want it going around the world, also, starting in China. “Again, who knows? I don’t think so. I think more …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are suspending in-person fundraising events and will raise money through a digital platform as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the 2020 election. “President Trump and the RNC have the strongest fundraising operation in presidential history and our unmatched data and digital operation make us uniquely equipped to sustain …

Politico reports: Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, has tested negative for coronavirus, a party spokesman announced, just days after she displayed flu-like symptoms following a trip to Mar-a-Lago. “On the advice of her doctor, @GOPChairwoman was administered a test for COVID-19. That test has fortunately come back negative,” Michael Ahrens, the RNC communications director, posted on Twitter. …

NPR reports: The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee warned a small group of well-connected constituents three weeks ago to prepare for dire economic and societal effects of the coronavirus, according to a secret recording obtained by NPR. The remarks from U.S. Sen. Richard Burr were more stark than any he had delivered in more public forums. On Feb. 27, …

The Anchorage Daily News reports: Alaska’s lone member of the U.S. House, Rep. Don Young, told a gathering of senior citizens last week that dangers posed by the coronavirus pandemic — the “beer virus,” he called it — have been overblown due to media-fueled hysteria. Speaking on Friday at Mat-Su Senior Services, a Palmer nonprofit that provides housing and services …

NBC News reports: Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld on Wednesday became the last major Republican primary challenger to President Donald Trump to exit the race, a day after Trump became the party’s presumptive nominee. “I hereby announce that I am suspending my candidacy for president of the United States, effective immediately,” Weld said in a statement. “I am immensely grateful …