Archives for April 3, 2020 at 10:53 pm EDT

Trump Says He Will Fire Intelligence Watchdog

April 3, 2020 at 10:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump notified Congress Friday evening that he intends in 30 days to fire the inspector general of the intelligence community, who alerted lawmakers to a whistleblower complaint last September that was at the center of allegations that led to the president’s impeachment,” the Washington Post reports.

“The bombshell move to remove Michael Atkinson comes as the administration is struggling to cope with a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 3,000 Americans.”

“Trump has blamed Atkinson repeatedly for letting the complaint get to Congress and letting the impeachment unfold… He has weighed removing him for months, but has been periodically talked out of it.”

Georgia Beaches Reopen

April 3, 2020 at 10:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Some of the state’s most popular beaches will be allowed to reopen Friday night due to Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) statewide order superseding that of some city-level shelter-in-place mandates,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“Georgia beach communities, including Tybee Island, had closed in response to local mandates imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19.”

Quote of the Day

April 3, 2020 at 9:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“We happen to think that Cuomo’s well-served with ventilators. We’re gonna find out.”

– President Trump, quoted by ABC News.

Trump Insists on In-Person Voting for November Election

April 3, 2020 at 8:34 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Punctuating the White House task force briefing Friday, President Trump said adamantly that the general election would still take place Nov. 3, dismissing any suggestion of mail-in voting,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Trump: “I think a lot of people cheat with mail-in voting. People should vote with ID, voter ID, I think voter ID is very important. The reason they don’t want voter ID is because they intend to cheat.”

He added: “It shouldn’t be mail-in voting. It should be you go to booth and you proudly display yourself, you send it in the mail… all sorts of bad things can happen… by the time it gets in and is tabulated.”

“Trump did not provide any evidence to back up his assertion and immediately ended Friday’s news conference after discussing the topic.”

Meanwhile, the Palm Beach Post reports that Trump himself has requested a vote-by-mail ballot for the Florida Republican presidential primary.

Barr to Speed Releases at Federal Prisons

April 3, 2020 at 8:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Attorney General Bill Barr is ordering federal prison officials to intensify their efforts to release ‘vulnerable’ inmates at three prison complexes that are struggling to contain major outbreaks of the coronavirus,” Politico reports.

“Barr said he’s seeking to speed the process of sending selected inmates at prisons in Danbury, Conn., Oakdale, La., and Elkton, Ohio to home confinement because of the danger serious levels of infection at those facilities pose to elderly prisoners and those with pre-existing health conditions.”

Trump Says CDC Advice Is Voluntary

April 3, 2020 at 5:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump said at his daily White House briefing on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control recommended that Americans use basic “non-medical, cloth” masks on a voluntary basis, the New York Times reports.

Said Trump: “You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it. It’s only a recommendation.”

Fauci Sidelined at Last Minute

April 3, 2020 at 5:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A source familiar told CNN there was a last minute decision to exclude Dr. Anthony Fauci from today’s coronavirus briefing at the White House.

Trump Slams Pelosi for Another ‘Witch Hunt’

April 3, 2020 at 5:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump lashed out after Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a bipartisan committee overseeing his administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, CBS News reports.

Said Trump: “This is not the time for politics. Endless partisan investigations — here we go again — have already done extraordinary damage to our country in recent years.”

He added: “You see what happens, it’s witch hunt after witch hunt after witch hunt. And in the end, it’s people doing the witch hunt who are losing, and they’ve been losing by a lot. And it’s not any time for witch hunts.”

How to Live with Coronavirus

April 3, 2020 at 5:39 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Andrew Sullivan: “The goal is not to ‘beat’ the virus, because it can’t be beaten. Now that it’s a pandemic, it’s here to stay. The goal is not to fight it, or wage war on it. COVID-19 is not a rival military. The goal is to find the optimal path to living with it.”

“I want Anthony Fauci making that decision. Right now, as complete a shutdown as possible is the only sane option. And going forward, we should always lean on the side of the preservation of life rather than the maximization of wealth. Every life counts. And if we make that collective pro-life decision — and, mercifully, we are — we are also saying something quite profound about who we are as Americans. We are saying that the lives of the elderly, and the poor, and the vulnerable matter more, when all is said and done, than our GDP. I cannot see how such a society can go forward after such an experience without instituting the kind of universal health care that these values represent.”

“It’s hard to go through such ordeals without wanting them to mean something. Out of AIDS came marriage equality, a permanent shift in the relationship between gays and society. Out of this plague, let us erect in its memory another fitting monument that will never age, crumble, or pass away: health care for all.”

McConnell Confirms There Will Be Another Relief Bill

April 3, 2020 at 4:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told the Associated Press that health care must be at the “top of the list” in the next coronavirus rescue package.

The Republican leader said Congress should focus on correcting any shortcomings in the just-passed $2.2 trillion aid bill and rely on health care experts for solutions to “wipe out” the virus.

Said McConnell: “There will be a next measure.”

Wisconsin Governor Calls Special Session on Voting

April 3, 2020 at 4:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) “is calling lawmakers in to stop people from going to the polls Tuesday to vote and instead mail ballots in an effort to prevent thousands of people from being exposed to coronavirus,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

“Evers on Friday called a special legislative session for 4 p.m. Saturday to convert Tuesday’s election entirely to a mail-in election, a change he called for a week ago, but state election officials said was too late to accomplish and Republican lawmakers rejected.”

Trump Barely Leads In Georgia

April 3, 2020 at 4:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

An internal poll in Georgia conducted for the U.S. Senate campaign of Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) finds President Trump just ahead of Joe Biden in a general election match up, 48% to 46%, with another 6% undecided.

New Senate and Electoral College Ratings

April 3, 2020 at 3:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just for members: A packed new edition of Inside Elections.

This issue includes updated analysis on all 35 Senate races, along with rating changes in two key contests (Colorado and Maine).

Join now to continue reading.

Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.

If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

Candidates Scramble to Fund Payroll in Delayed Primaries

April 3, 2020 at 3:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “More than a dozen states have delayed nominating contests in presidential and down-ballot races due to the new coronavirus outbreak, but Ohio’s move in mid-March was the most jarring for campaigns—the state’s governor decided to postpone in-person voting the night before the scheduled primary date.”

“Many campaigns budget to the primary since fundraising typically gets easier once a candidate becomes the nominee and tends to receive more help from the political party.”

Supreme Court Cancels Arguments for Rest of Term

April 3, 2020 at 3:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The U.S. Supreme Court Friday said it will scrap the oral argument schedule for the rest of the term amid the coronavirus pandemic but left open the possibility that it might hear a few cases before the term ends in late June,” NBC News reports.

“Nine cases were to be argued during the two-week session beginning April 20, including one of the most important of the term — a challenge to the current system used for electing the president. The court was to decide whether presidential electors must vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in their states or whether they are free agents.”

McConnell Warns of ‘Glitches’ with Relief Law

April 3, 2020 at 3:06 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told the Lexington Herald Leader there are “bound to be plenty of mistakes” with implementing the massive coronavirus economic relief package he helped negotiate and get signed into law.

Said McConnell: “There are bound to be problems. You can’t pass a bill of this magnitude in a week and have a perfect implementation of $2.2 trillion, so sure there are going to be glitches.”

White House Will Test Anyone Expected Near Trump

April 3, 2020 at 2:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Associated Press: “Starting Friday, anyone who is expected to be in ‘close proximity’ to either President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence will be given a quick COVID-19 test ‘to evaluate for pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic carriers status to limit inadvertent transmission.’”

“All visitors to the White House complex already have their temperatures taken when entering the building and if they will be in close proximity to either Trump or Pence.”

Early Data Shows Blacks Impacted More by Virus

April 3, 2020 at 2:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

ProPublica: “As of Friday morning, African Americans made up almost half of Milwaukee County’s 945 cases and 81% of its 27 deaths in a county whose population is 26% black. Milwaukee is one of the few places in the United States that is tracking the racial breakdown of people who have been infected by the novel coronavirus, offering a glimpse at the disproportionate destruction it is inflicting on black communities nationwide.”

“In Michigan, where the state’s population is 14% black, African Americans made up 35% of cases and 40% of deaths as of Friday morning. Detroit, where a majority of residents are black, has emerged as a hot spot with a high death toll. As has New Orleans. Louisiana has not published case breakdowns by race, but 40% of the state’s deaths have happened in Orleans Parish, where the majority of residents are black.”