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GOPEN UP SESAME -- Calls are growing in the GOP to open up the economy and return the country to normal. While some Republicans are still expressing caution and emphasizing that restrictions need to be lifted gradually, others are being more aggressive in calling for an off-ramp. It should have happened yesterday, said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who has pleaded his case in op-eds, letters and numerous texts and phone calls to the White House and GOP leadership. And Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-Ind.) told a local radio station that policymakers need to put on their big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils."

The growing pressure comes as President Donald Trump has already been itching to restart the economy, which was supposed to be the GOPs crown jewel heading into the 2020 election. The president assembled a task force to explore ways to get the country moving again and has mused about reopening as soon as May 1. But the push has sparked a backlash among Democrats, who warn there could be another deadly spike in cases if they ignore the advice of health experts.

And there are also constitutional concerns at play. Some Republicans think decisions about commerce are best left up to the states and local governments, despite Trump recently declaring that his authority is total. That comment prompted some mild criticism from Republicans: Rep. Liz Cheney tweeted that the federal government does not have absolute power, while Sen. Marco Rubio argued the Constitution & common sense dictates these decisions be made at the state level. The dispatch from Burgess, your Huddle host and Marianne: https://politi.co/3adSedU.

Speaking of executive power ... Reps. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) and Justin Amash (I-Mich.) trolled Trump by introducing a one-line resolution that says when someone is the president of the United States, their authority is not total.

Related reads: CDC, FEMA have created a plan to reopen America. Heres what it says, by WaPos Lena H. Sun, Josh Dawsey and William Wan: https://wapo.st/2V6QvCV; and Why Trump cant flip the switch on the economy, via Ben White: https://politi.co/2yeEK4o.

President Donald Trump departs after speaking about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

STILL STALLED -- No movement yet on the small business aid that is stuck in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he hopes Democrats will stop holding things up and let Congress act this week, while Speaker Nancy Pelosi said we cannot accept Leader McConnells proposals that would ... do nothing to aid desperate hospitals and state and local governments. (The speaker also tore into Trump in a scathing Dear Colleague letter, saying a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility.) And Trump weighed in on the whole saga via tweet: Democrats dont want to approve more money for our great workers under the incredibly successful Paycheck plan. Replenish Account Now!

Meanwhile The New York and New Jersey delegations are urging House and Senate leaders to create a new $40 billion fund that hands out cash to states based on infections rather than the standard lump sum given to each state. The bipartisan group, which includes roughly 40 members, sent a letter to congressional leaders after one analysis showed that states like Nebraska and Montana have received roughly $300,000 in aid per reported case, compared to New York, which received about $12,000 per case.

For Democrats, theyre treading carefully when it comes to dealing with Trump. Lawmakers are trying to strike a delicate balance between working with the administration to help their states and also holding the president accountable, knowing full well that any criticism could spark retribution from Trump. Thats one reason why Democrats are increasingly turning to other officials like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Vice President Mike Pence. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) even sent Pence a thank you note for helping him secure N95 masks. The story from Marianne, Burgess and Sarah: https://politi.co/34FNlcG.

Related reads: Republicans warn coronavirus aid program running out of cash, by Reuters David Morgan and Susan Cornwell: https://reut.rs/2yk0rAg; and Small Business Loan Funds Running Out With Congress Stalled, from Bloombergs Josh Wingrove, Laura Litvan and Billy House: https://bloom.bg/2VsbiQu.

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ITS GONNA BE MAY -- McConnell announced that the Senate wont convene until May 4, joining House leaders in delaying their return to the Capitol. The decision to extend the Senate recess which McConnell made in consultation with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and public health officials means bills can only pass by unanimous consent for the next three weeks. As the country continues working together to flatten the curve the full Senate is not expected to travel back to Washington D.C. sooner than Monday, May 4th," McConnell said. More from Burgess: https://politi.co/3a71MYk.

Related reads: Some staff in the Capitol told to wear masks, but not lawmakers, per Roll Calls Chris Marquette: https://bit.ly/2VsX69V; and Sidelined by Coronavirus, Congressional Leaders Face Pressure to Vote Remotely, by NYTs Sheryl Gay Stolberg: https://nyti.ms/3bd5xwr.

WERE HALFWAY THERE! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, April 15, where Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) is living proof that safety measures can still be fashionable.

TUESDAYS MOST CLICKED: Burgess, Heather and Zachary Warmbrodts story on the stalled small business aid was the winner.

WHOS WHO -- Trump announced that he is halting funding to the World Health Organization while his administration reviews the group's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The WHO has emerged as a top target on the right, with critics slamming the organization for opposing early travel restrictions to China and accusing the WHO of being overly deferential to the Chinese early on in the outbreak. "With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have deep concerns whether Americas generosity has been put to the best use possible," Trump said during his nightly press briefing.

But the controversial move is sure to reignite a battle with congressional Democrats, who are already crying foul over the move. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) compared the decision to "cutting off ammunition to an ally as the enemy closes in." And Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) suggested Trump does not have the legal authority to withhold funds appropriated by Congress. You might think Donald Trump would have learned this important fact during the past 9 months! he tweeted, referring to the Ukraine scandal that led to Trumps impeachment. The latest from Alice Miranda Ollstein: https://politi.co/2wFa9N3.

Related read: Scoop: Lawmakers demand answers from WHO, via Axios Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian: https://bit.ly/3cuGsO7.

BURRNING UP -- It looks like Sen. Richard Burr is embroiled in another controversy. ProPublica with the scoop: The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, has come under fire in recent weeks for unloading stock holdings right before the market crashed on fears of coronavirus and for a timely sale of shares in an obscure Dutch fertilizer company. Now the North Carolina Republicans 2017 sale of his Washington, D.C., home to a group led by a donor and powerful lobbyist who had business before Burrs committee is raising additional ethical questions.

Burr sold the small townhouse, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, for what, by some estimates, was an above market price $900,000 to a team led by lobbyist John Green. That is tens of thousands of dollars above some estimates of the propertys value by tax assessors, a real estate website and a local real estate agent. The sale was done off-market, without the home being listed for sale publicly. Green is a longtime donor to Burrs political campaigns and has co-hosted at least one fundraiser for him. In 2017, the year of the sale, Green lobbied on behalf of a stream of clients with business before Burrs committees. The story from Robert Faturechi: https://bit.ly/3cn25PY.

ALSO! Carole Baskin and Doc Antle, who were both featured in Netflixs Tiger King documentary, have both donated to Burr (h/t to Dave Levinthal and Allan Smith.)

COLLINS CALLS OUT TRUMP -- Sen. Susan Collins, one of the most vulnerable Republicans up for reelection this fall, had some choice words for Trumps handling of the coronavirus crisis during an interview with Burgess. The dispatch: Susan Collins hasnt decided whether to endorse or oppose President Donald Trumps reelection bid. But she has reached a conclusion on his public performance during the coronavirus pandemic: Very uneven.

The Maine Republican senator said in an interview on Tuesday that Trump has been effective when hes focused on the coronavirus response and the recommendations of public health experts like Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S. But when hes beefing with governors and journalists, far less so. There are times when I think his message has been spot on and he has really deferred to the public health officials who have been with him at these press conferences, Collins said. And then there are times when I think hes been off message and has brought up extraneous issues. So I think its been mixed. More: https://politi.co/2K98baG.

Related read: Mark Kelly widens fundraising lead over Martha McSally in big-dollar Senate race, via Henry Brean of the Arizona Daily Star: https://bit.ly/2XyMwRn.

WHO LET THE WATCHDOGS OUT -- Trumps recent attacks on the independent community of inspectors general has brought together a broad coalition of critics in Congress, report Andrew and Kyle. The story: Two key Republican senators on Tuesday raised alarm about President Donald Trumps recent hostility toward the governments internal watchdogs, tacitly warning that he has threatened their independence and asking the president to support, rather than undermine, them.

The GOP senators gentle rebuke of Trump is the latest in an unusual, concerted push by Democrats, Republicans and the federal watchdog community to brush back the president for his incursion into the independence of inspectors general. And it came just minutes before a bipartisan duo, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote to Michael Horowitz, who leads the council of inspectors general, demanding information about the White Houses process for vetting and submitting nominees for confirmation by the Senate. The latest: https://politi.co/2Vbe2Tb.

Related: Stimulus Oversight Panel Has One Person Trying to Watch $2.2 Trillion Alone, by Bloombergs Joshua Green: https://bloom.bg/2ygKRoO.

David Mork is now assistant VP at Zurich North America. He previously was COS to former Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.).

The House and Senate are out.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) holds his weekly pen and pad briefing via teleconference beginning at 11 a.m.

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) holds a webcast on "the coronavirus' disproportionate impact on Black America beginning at noon.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) holds a telephone town hall to provide an update on mitigating the spread of COVID-19 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAYS WINNER: Dan Cohen was the first person to guess that seven speakers of the House regained their position to serve in the role non-consecutively.

TODAYS QUESTION: From yours truly: Of all the current senators who have written books, who has written the most? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess to [emailprotected].

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Republicans crank up the pressure on Trump to open the economy - Politico

Another day, another act of arson by President TrumpDonald John TrumpMichael Cohen to be released early from prison amid coronavirus pandemic: report Biden assembling White House transition team Top Republicans call on Trump to fund WHO pending director-general's resignation MORE against good government. By now, good government is close to a wasteland. There are a few good institutions left standing. No problem. Theyll be razed in due course.

Parts of the wasteland now include: the intelligence community; law enforcement; Congressional oversight; whistleblowers; medical, scientific, diplomatic and the foreign policy communities. Did I miss one? Trump is currently working on torching inspectors general. Hes just getting warmed up.

So far, his antics are working and will continue to work. Theres no viable resistance.

Trumps latest developing attack against the inspector general community rips at the heart of government oversight. I worked in that community for 10 years, and I know its level of effectiveness and professionalism. IG offices provide much-needed objective assessments, investigations and evaluations of crucial issues that congressional committees are often unable to handle. I worked on Senate oversight committees for 19 years. I am well-steeped in the capabilities of both.

In sniping against the IG community, Trump is attacking Congresss baby. A direct reaction to the abuses of the Nixon administration during Watergate, the signing of the IG Act of 1978 was witnessed by only one remaining member of the United States Senate Patrick LeahyPatrick Joseph LeahyThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump turns to lawmakers to advise on reopening Trump taps members of Congress to advise on reopening Can the Trump administration prevent asylum-seeking aliens from entering the US during COVID-19? MORE (D-Vt.). The Act was the law of the land while literally all other present-day senators came into office.

What that means is that IGs have been part of the fabric of good government oversight since the day those other 99 senators took the oath of office. You would think those senators have some skin in the game to protect the institution. All of them, I trust, have called upon IGs to investigate, referee, or provide information either for their committee assignments or, at a minimum, for their constituents.

I invoke the Senate as an institution, here, because it is the most appropriate bulwark against attacks on government oversight. Senators have a bigger bully pulpit than House members, and they each have the power to put holds on administration nominees until they get what they want. This Senate also has the credibility to take action because they are in the presidents party. The question is, does this Senate want to play hardball, or do they just want to jeer from the sidelines? Will they brave Trumps political threats and tweets to rescue their own baby? Lets see if there are any public hints.

For starters, three years of history between Trump and Senate Republicans suggests the Senate will genuflect to Trump. Since Trumps broadside on the IGs, Senate Republicans such as Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and others have issued milquetoast statements expressing outrage, concern or being troubled. Theres been no desire yet to actually do something to crack down on the president for his assault. They simply want the president to respect the next poor sap he picks, if anyone will take the job.

There are some measures individual or groups of senators can take to play hardball with Trump on IGs. In ascending order of toughness: a full-frontal assault in the court of public opinion by numerous senators who oppose Trumps actions and in defense of good government IGs; putting a hold on nominees or legislation, or both, that the White House desperately wants; passing tough legislation as part of Phase Four of the stimulus. The new IG legislation dropped by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) last week giving IGs a 7-year term with narrow restrictions for dismissal would be a good start; squeezing the White Houses travel budget such as to Mar-a-Lago and other Trump golf hangouts could be another.

These are the traditional ways of playing hardball with the White House or other departments who mess around with IGs. A combination of all four by numerous senators would be daunting. In my Senate career, I was instrumental in removing four IGs from office, with at least an equal number of good IGs rescued from Trump-style assaults (though none was as formidable an opponent as a rogue president). As a staffer, I often used such tactics to get my bosss way.

A starting point for groups of like-minded senators intent on defending the IG community could be the Senate Whistleblower Caucus. Whistleblowers depend on protection from IGs, and Congress depends on IGs to vet whistleblowers. Another group could be individual members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, with jealous jurisdiction over the IG Act.

A third group has already surfaced: the eight signatories to the April 8 letter spearheaded by Grassley calling for further explanation from Trump on why he sacked ICIG Michael Atkinson. This is an interesting development. It could be the start of a serious push-back against Trump, or it could be a half-hearted attempt, more for show than for results.

On the bright side, the eight are heavy-hitters, and theyre bipartisan. The three Republicans Grassley, Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyRomney is only GOP senator not on new White House coronavirus task force Trump taps members of Congress to advise on reopening Trump and Senate Republicans at a showdown over government oversight? MORE (R-Utah) and Collins are one Republican short of a potential majority when added to the 47 Democrats. The issue chosen by the eight is the perfect point of departure for a push-back effort The IG did the right thing at the time, by all accounts; the IG was prematurely removed by Trump; and, the explanation was statutorily insufficient. A simple request for a substantive explanation is a logical place to begin pulling on the thread.

On the other hand, check out Grassleys tweet and statement last week regarding Trumps IG removals. He seems to have chosen footsy over hardball. It seems like hes trying to reason with a ten-year-old to eat his vegetables, suggesting IGs are merely trying to drain the swamp of problems created by President Obama. This is hardly the language of some Braveheart seeking revenge for the presidents assault on his baby.

This development warrants watching to see if Grassley can pull together a coalition to push back against Trump, or if its all for show while another institutional norm goes the way of Humpty Dumpty. This may be the last chance at a viable resistance to Trump the arsonist.

Kris Kolesnik is a 34-year veteran of federal government oversight. He spent 19 years as senior counselor and director of investigations for Sen.Chuck Grassley(R-Iowa). Kolesnik then became executive director of theNational Whistleblower Center. Finally, he spent 10 years working with the Department of the Interiors Office of Inspector General as the associate inspector general for external affairs.

Read the rest here:
Trump and Senate Republicans at a showdown over government oversight? | TheHill - The Hill

Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpMichael Cohen to be released early from prison amid coronavirus pandemic: report Biden assembling White House transition team Top Republicans call on Trump to fund WHO pending director-general's resignation MORE warns that if voting is made easier for more people especially some still frightened by the pandemic You'd never have a Republican elected in this country again.

The president, who has been caught in thousands of lies, is saying what he really believes even if it's hyperbole. This may be an example of a political gaffe, which Michael Kinsley described as when a politician tells "some obvious truth he isn't supposed to say."

This is an especially critical issue now, as parts of the country could be imperiled by the novel coronaviruss second strike in November; the harbinger might be this month's elections in Wisconsin, where there was a surge of absentee ballots though in the confusion some were not counted, and others citizens were forced to choose between their health or in-person voting.

A major fight is brewing in Congress over whether to provide states with real resources to craft alternatives more voting by mail, simplifying absentee voting, opening more and less crowded polling venues. This is fiercely opposed by Trump and Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellCalifornia to provide food industry employees with two weeks paid leave Trumpfaces roadblocks with threat to adjourn Congress On The Money: Small business loan program out of money | Lawmakers at impasse over new funds | Senate adjourns for week with no deal | Trump to leave decision on reopening economies with governors MORE as they see it helping lower income voters of color, students and citizens with disabilities.

This reflects a lengthy list of Republicans efforts over the past decade to suppress voting among selective groups. With the help of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, which tracks voter suppression, here are a few examples:

This is all done in the name of preventing voter fraud, which itself is a fraud. Virtually every study or analysis from academic research to organizations to foundations to state election boards has found voting fraud in America is almost nonexistent. Trump appointed a commission, headed by Vice President Pence, to refute this overwhelming evidence; it bombed and disbanded.

Last month's stimulus bill, despite objections from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, allocated $400 million to the states to enhance voting procedures this fall, when the virus may return in force. That isn't nearly sufficient.

House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiTop Republicans call on Trump to fund WHO pending director-general's resignation Overnight Health Care: Trump guidelines on reopening to let governors make decision | Trump approach garners mixed reviews | Senate adjourns without deal on small business loans 14 things to know about coronavirus for today MORE (D-Calif.) wants to add at least $2 billion more in additional measures, without requiring the budget-starved states to kick in. Ideally this should include mandates for voting by mail in the pandemic environment, but Republicans will do anything to stop that.

The hypocrisy, of course, is that in states that already have mail-in voting like Pennsylvania the Republican Party is sending mailers to registered Republicans urging them to vote by mail. Theres obviously nothing inherently wrong or corrupt about the practice; they just dont want it to spread.

Trump and McConnell, whose priorities always are money and power, could care less if thereare more Wisconsins: On anything even approximating a level playing field, the odds are against Republicans winning the presidency and holding the Senate this November so they're trying to tilt the field.

Al Hunt is the former executive editor of Bloomberg News. He previously served as reporter, bureau chief and Washington editor for the Wall Street Journal. For almost a quarter century he wrote a column on politics for The Wall Street Journal, then the International New York Times and Bloomberg View. Follow him on Twitter@AlHuntDC.

See the article here:
Trump lays bare the Republicans' mail-in voting hypocrisy | TheHill - The Hill

This week, Fox News far-right Laura Ingraham has been trying to make a case for easing social distancing restrictions in the United States. A recurring theme on Ingrahams show has been that social distancing and stay-at-home orders have been going too far and that mainstream media coverage of the coronavirus pandemic is overblown and on Thursday night, she discussed the pandemic with guests who included Dr. Phil McGraw and immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci.

And now she is being slammed by critics for both interviews.

McGraw told Ingraham, 250 people a year die from poverty, and the poverty line is getting such that more and more people are going to fall below that because the economy is crashing around us. And theyre doing that because people are dying from the coronavirus. I get that, but look, the fact of the matter is: we have people dying 45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes, 360,000 a year from swimming pools. But we dont shut the country down for that, but yet, were doing it for this. And the fallout is going to last for years because peoples lives are being destroyed.

Original post:
New Mexico governors office dunks on Republicans after they freak out over criticism of the coronavirus death cult - Raw Story

However, while the Trump administration refuses to aid hard-pressed institutions that employ around 25 million Americans, it has gone all-out to help the oil industry.

Trumps possible success in brokering a deal to cut global oil production I say possible because oil prices havent moved much, which suggests that markets arent impressed made headlines Monday. But I havent seen much commentary about just how strange it is for a U.S. president to be playing that role.

First, since when is it the presidents job to organize international cartels?

Second, why are higher oil prices in the U.S. national interest? Were not a major oil exporter in fact, we import more oil than we export. And if Trumps cartel were actually successful in raising oil prices back to what they were before the current price war, U.S. consumers would pay a heavy price, on the order of $200 billion a year.

So why is propping up oil prices a priority? Trump says that its about jobs. But U.S. oil and gas extraction employs only around 150,000 workers. Thats less than 1 percent of the number of jobs America has lost in the past three weeks. Its only around 0.1 percent of total U.S. employment. Its a rounding error compared with the jobs at risk in hospitals and local government, which Trump is refusing to help.

So what makes oil worthy of aid when hospitals arent?

One answer is that investors have sunk a lot of money into oil, even though few jobs were created. Net fixed assets in oil and gas extraction are around $1.8 trillion, almost twice the total for hospitals, despite far smaller employment. So maybe this isnt about protecting jobs, its about protecting capital.

And this capital happens to be very G.O.P.-friendly: The oil and gas sector makes big political contributions, almost 90 percent of them to Republicans. This is, by the way, in strong contrast to education, which accounts for a majority of state and local government jobs and gives most of its contributions to Democrats.

Finally, while America isnt a net oil exporter, Russia and Saudi Arabia are basically petrostates that export oil and almost nothing else. So propping up oil prices is a way for Trump to help his two favorite autocrats.

See more here:
Republicans Dont Want to Save Jobs - The New York Times