Republicans

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 …

The Daily Beast reports: In a Senate floor speech Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul described undocumented immigrants as not “legitimate” people and “non-people” while making the case that they should not be given access to federal child tax credits. Paul was pushing an amendment that proposes several measures to defray the cost of the sweeping responses to the coronavirus. The Kentucky …

CNBC reports: After years of denying any wrongdoing, former Rep. Duncan Hunter has been sentenced to 11 months in prison and three years of supervised probation, according to NBC’s San Diego TV station KNSD. A California Republican who represented the state’s 50th Congressional district, Hunter and his wife were charged with 60 criminal counts of campaign finance violations in August …

Sen. Mitt Romney has formalized a set of proposals that swept Twitter early this morning and posted them to his website.  U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today called for urgent action on additional coronavirus response measures aimed at providing economic relief for working Americans and families, easing the financial burden for students, and protecting both health workers and patients. Romney …

CBS News reports: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Monday that he will try to have the state’s in-person voting moved from Tuesday, March 17, to June 2 to comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations that older and at-risk Americans stay home to avoid contracting coronavirus. “We cannot conduct this election tomorrow, the in-person voting for 13 …

The New York Times reports: Running out of federal court vacancies to fill, Senate Republicans have been quietly making overtures to sitting Republican-nominated judges who are eligible to retire to urge them to step aside so they can be replaced while the party still holds the Senate and the White House. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, who has used …

The Hill reports: Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Sunday urged Americans to “stop panicking” as more cases of the novel coronavirus are reported in the country, and called it “a great time” for those who are healthy to “just go out.” “There’s a lot of concerns with the economy here because people are scared to go out,” Nunes said. “But …