CNN: “A new oversight panel established by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to get off the ground as Republican leaders weigh boycotting the panel amid accusations it is designed to hurt Trump.”
Senate Republicans Bet Their Majority on Trump
Politico: “The coronavirus has killed more than 70,000 Americans, tanked the once-soaring U.S. economy and shows no signs of abating. And Trump’s ineffective leadership is largely to blame, say Democrats who are growing optimistic they can seize the Senate after being relegated to the minority for six years.”
“But nearly all GOP senators running for reelection have decided there’s little utility in breaking with the president, particularly after seeing some fellow Republicans collapse at the ballot box with such a strategy. And if somehow the economy recovers and the virus dissipates by the fall, Republicans could benefit by sticking with Trump.”
“It’s the latest sign that Trump’s control over his party is total. And that Republicans see their own political fortunes tied to the president’s, amid a global pandemic that will dominate both the presidential race and the battle for the Senate over the next six months.”
Administration Shelves CDC Guide to Reopen Country
“A set of detailed documents created by the nation’s top disease investigators meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as mass transit, day care centers and restaurants during the still-raging pandemic has been shelved by the Trump administration,” the AP reports.
“It was supposed to be published last Friday, but agency scientists were told the guidance ‘would never see the light of day,’”
How Biden Can Defeat Trump from His Basement
Lis Smith: “It seems likely that social distancing will force the presidential campaign to be played out entirely on our screens. That will free Mr. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, of the burden of running a grueling, expensive campaign involving incessant travel.
“Instead, he can be digitally omnipresent — at a small fraction of the cost and physical toll — and create a new paradigm for how presidential campaigns communicate in the press for years to come.”
Arizona Halts Work on Model Predicting Virus Peak
Hours after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) accelerated plans to reopen businesses, saying the state was “headed in the right direction,” his administration halted the work of a team of experts projecting it was on a different — and much grimmer — course, the Washington Post reports.
“On Monday night, the eve of President Trump’s visit to the state, Ducey’s health department shut down the work of academic experts predicting the peak of the state’s coronavirus outbreak was still about two weeks away.”
Buck Pressured Official to Submit Incorrect Election Results
Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), the Colorado Republican Party Chair, “pressured a local party official to submit incorrect election results to set the primary ballot for a state Senate seat,” according to audio obtained by the Denver Post.
Buck is heard insisting that this is an “order of the central committee.”
The local official resisted committing a misdemeanor.
Trump Declares Victory Before the War Is Over
“Confronted with America’s worst public health crisis in generations, President Trump declared himself a wartime president. Now he has begun doing what past commanders have done when a war goes badly: Declare victory and go home,” the New York Times reports.
“The war, however, does not seem over. Outside New York, the coronavirus pandemic in the United States is still growing, not receding. The latest death toll estimates have more than doubled from what Mr. Trump predicted just weeks ago. And polls show the public is not ready to restore normal life.”
“But Mr. Trump’s cure-can’t-be-worse-than-the-disease logic is clear: As bad as the virus may be, the cost of the virtual national lockdown has grown too high. With more than 30 million people out of work and businesses collapsing by the day, keeping the country at home seems unsustainable. With the virus still spreading and no vaccine available until next year at the earliest, though, the president has decided that for life to resume for many, some may have to die.”
Flake Says GOP Needs ‘a Sound Defeat’
Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told Yahoo News that the best thing for the future of the Republican party would be “a sound defeat” for Donald Trump in November,
Said Flake: “No doubt. Long term for the Republican Party, you bet. And for conservatism as well.”
Democrats Demand Evidence on Coronavirus Origins
“Top Democratic lawmakers say the Trump administration should share with Congress the allegedly ‘enormous’ evidence showing that the coronavirus sprang from a Chinese lab,” Politico reports.
“Otherwise, they warn, the administration should quit hyping questionable information.”
Supreme Embarrassment
“The Supreme Court was making history Wednesday afternoon, holding arguments over the phone because of Covid-19, when all of a sudden there was the distinct sound of a toilet flushing,” CNN reports.
Trump Lashes Out Because He Knows the Truth
George Conway: “Americans died from covid-19 at the rate of about one every 42 seconds during the past month. That ought to keep any president awake at night. Not Donald Trump.”
“Just days ago, the president flipped out at a detailed New York Times article that described how he watches television at all hours, obsessed about how he’s covered in the news. As though to prove the story’s thesis, Trump rage-tweeted that it was a ‘phony story’ and that the media would say ‘Anything to demean!'”
“And then, as though to prove the point again, at 12:46 a.m. on Tuesday, Trump went ballistic on Twitter — at me.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“We expected this ad to hit. We did not expect him to behave in the completely maniacally way he behaved all day today, but here we are.”
— GOP strategist Rick Wilson, quoted by the HuffPost, on the Lincoln Project’s “Mourning in America” ad.
The President Is Unraveling
Peter Wehner: “In case there was any doubt, the past dozen days have proved we’re at the point in his presidency where Donald Trump has become his own caricature, a figure impossible to parody, a man whose words and actions are indistinguishable from an Alec Baldwin skit on Saturday Night Live…”
“I could have picked a dozen other examples over the past 10 days, but these five will suffice. They illustrate some of the essential traits of Donald Trump: the shocking ignorance, ineptitude, and misinformation; his constant need to divide Americans and attack those who are trying to promote social solidarity; his narcissism, deep insecurity, utter lack of empathy, and desperate need to be loved; his feelings of victimization and grievance; his affinity for ruthless leaders; and his fondness for conspiracy theories.”
“None of these traits are new in Trump; they are part of the reason why some of us were warning about him long before he won the presidency, even going back to 2011. But, more and more, those traits are defining his presidency, producing a kind of creeping paralysis. We are witnessing the steady, uninterrupted intellectual and psychological decomposition of an American president. It’s something the Trump White House cannot hide—indeed, it doesn’t even try to hide it anymore. There is not even the slightest hint of normalcy.”
Burr’s Brother-in-Law Also Dumped Stock
“Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) was not the only member of his family to sell off a significant portion of his stock holdings in February, ahead of the market crash spurred by coronavirus fears,” ProPublica reports.
“On the same day Burr sold, his brother-in-law also dumped tens of thousands of dollars worth of shares. The market fell by more than 30% in the subsequent month.”
Trump Ally to Head Postal Service
“A top donor to President Trump and the Republican National Committee will be named the new head of the Postal Service, putting a top ally of the president in charge of an agency where Trump has long pressed for major changes in how it handles its business,” the Washington Post reports.
Trump Vetoes War Powers Resolution
President Trump vetoed a bipartisan war powers resolution that would have curbed his ability to direct military action against Iran without Congress’ authorization, Axios reports.
Said Trump: “This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party. The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands.”
Biden Maintains National Lead
A new Economist/YouGov tracking poll finds Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in the presidential race, 46% to 42% with 4% choosing someone else and 5% still unsure.
Israel’s High Court Allows Coalition Government
The Supreme Court of Israel has unanimously struck down petitions seeking to block Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been indicted on corruption charges, from forming a coalition government with his former rival Benny Gantz, Haaretz reports.
Axios: “The decision paves the way for the new government to be sworn in on May 13, bringing an end to more than a year of political deadlock in which Israel was forced to hold three consecutive elections.”