Month: February 2020
U.S. stocks plummet and health experts warn against Trump’s claims: The latest on coronavirus
The White House announced Thursday that they had named a coronavirus 'coordinator' to lead response to the health crisis. Ambassador Debbie Birx, who serves as the U.S. government's leader for combatting HIV/AIDS globally, will report to Vice President Mike Pence, the administration's point person for the response. She will also join the White House's coronavirus task force led by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
Pence defends actions as governor during HIV outbreak in Indiana
Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday defended his actions as governor of Indiana during an HIV outbreak, having faced scrutiny for his handling of epidemics after being named President Donald Trump’s coronavirus chief.
Speaking with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Pence said he took the necessary action to fight off an epidemic of HIV in Indiana by lifting a ban on sterile needle-exchange programs in the affected locale. Pence said he still did not support needle exchanges but did what was necessary at the time.
Nearly 200 people in Scott County were infected with HIV from 2011-2014 as a result of sharing dirty needles, and Pence faced fierce criticism for dragging his feet on lifting the ban on needle exchanges.
Pence’s handling of the outbreak was seen as a window into his potential handling of health crises ahead of the 2016 presidential election and after his appointment as the White House coronavirus chief.
Trump bemoans criticisms of administration’s response
President Donald Trump on Thursday went after the “fake news” media for casting his response to coronavirus in what he characterized as a bad light.
“I think it’s an incredible achievement what our country’s done,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
He said his administration had been improperly critiqued for closing borders to foreign citizens coming from China, arguing that it was the proper measure at the time.
He claimed he was accused of being a “racist” by the media for limiting travel from Asia while leaving the borders open to other affected countries. Trump also complimented himself for Wednesday evening's news conference where he announced Vice President Mike Pence to head his coronavirus taskforce, saying it was "calming."
Trump also assured reporters that the coronavirus will disappear and the United States is closely collaborating with other countries to contain the situation.
Later in the evening, Trump used much more severe terms to disparage Democrats for focusing too much on his impeachment to act on the coronavirus outbreak.
"Do Nothing Democrats were busy wasting their time on the Impeachment Hoax, & anything they could do to make the Republican Party look bad, while I was busy calling early boarder & flight closings, putting us way ahead in our battle with the Coronavirus. Dems called it very wrong!" Trump tweeted.
Pence led his first task force meeting amid questions about who exactly is leading the response efforts.
Pence said he is leading the group of high level officials and health experts, but will rely on Azar as chairman.
“The President has every confidence in the secretary as I do. But the President wanted to make it clear to the American people that we're going to bring a whole of government approach to this,” Pence said.
He added that yesterday and today he spoke with Democratic and Republican leadership in Congress about the virus and the supplemental spending bill that will direct funds for prevention and treatment efforts.
The president’s vision is a “whole of government approach,” Pence said.
“The work we are doing here represents the most important work we are doing here today,” Pence said.
During his visit to HHS, Pence also made a stop at the Secretary’s Operations Center to say hello to government employees monitoring the outbreak. Employees sat at computers and took note of outbreak numbers around the world on large video screens at the front of the room.
Dow posts 1,000+ point loss amid worsening coronavirus fears
U.S. stocks plummeted Thursday despite the Trump administration’s efforts to calm markets and fears about the coronavirus outbreak. The Dow closed nearly 1,200 points in the red after a volatile day in the market.
The Dow tumbled more than 500 points just after the opening bell, and though it had made up much of its losses by midday, the market took another hit in the afternoon not long after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state was monitoring 8,400 for possible infections.
That news preceded another wave of selloffs, wiping out earlier gains. All three major indices in the New York Stock Exchange entered the day in correction territory, or down at least 10 percent from all-time highs.
— Caitlin Oprysko
Public health experts warned that some of the president's claims Wednesday night could be dangerously misleading.
The slow pace of screening for the virus is taking on new urgency after the CDC on Wednesday night confirmed the first coronavirus case in a U.S. patient who had not traveled to an infected area or come into contact with someone known to be infected.
Trump’s alternately combative and light-hearted press conference on the government’s coronavirus response did little to calm escalating global concerns about the epidemic, as U.S. markets continued to slide upon opening Thursday morning amid reports the virus continues to spread to more countries.
Trump insisted Wednesday night that health workers are “testing everybody that we need to test,” a statement one expert called “blatantly false.”
— Alice Miranda Ollstein and Sarah Owermohle
The latest U.S. coronavirus case highlights the country's still-limited ability to test patients for the virus.
Just 40 of more than 100 public health labs in the U.S. are currently able to diagnose the coronavirus because of problems with a test developed by the CDC, potentially slowing the response if the virus starts taking hold here. The faulty test has also delayed a plan to widely screen people with symptoms of respiratory illness who have tested negative for influenza to detect whether the coronavirus may be stealthily spreading.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar told lawmakers Thursday that HHS expects 93 labs around the country to be able to conduct their own coronavirus tests by Monday, using either the CDC’s diagnostic or a private-sector alternative that could be available as early as Friday.
The CDC has conducted more than 3,600 screenings so far, and there is currently no backlog. But the delayed rollout of tests to public health labs around the country has raised concerns that the coronavirus could be spreading undetected.
Without quick action, the chances increase that the virus could pass from person to person within the U.S. and build into a full-fledged outbreak.
Right now, only a narrow group of Americans is being tested: those who have recently traveled to China or have been in contact with someone confirmed to have the virus. That is too limited to detect potential problems before they grow larger.
— David Lim and Adam Cancryn
California's governor says the state doesn't have enough test kits as officials monitor 8,400 people.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that the state is working with federal officials to expand its ability to evaluate people for the coronavirus, one day after it was revealed the first patient likely to have contracted it within a U.S. community was initially denied a test.
The governor said federal officials earlier Thursday assured that "testing protocols will be advanced with urgency." The state's 200 testing kits were a "simply inadequate" number, Newsom said, and he called it a top priority to conduct "point of contact" testing where patients are staying.
Late Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health revealed that a Solano County resident tested positive for COVID-19. That patient has been at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento since Feb. 19 after being transferred from another Northern California hospital.
UCD leaders said their staff initially suspected coronavirus as a potential cause but were denied a test because the patient did not meet the CDC's criteria for testing. The CDC eventually granted a test on Sunday, and the patient was diagnosed as positive Wednesday.
CDC Director Robert Redfield told a congressional panel Thursday that the CDC has revised its screening rules to expand testing after learning of the California case.
— Victoria Colliver and Kevin Yamamura
A California woman potentially exposed dozens of people at a small hospital more than a week before she was diagnosed with coronavirus.
The woman, the first patient likely to have contracted coronavirus within a U.S. community, spent three days in the Vacaville hospital before being transferred to the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where she was finally tested.
After learning the patient had been diagnosed Wednesday with the novel coronavirus strain, the hospital launched meticulous tracing of anyone in the Vacaville facility who may have had any contact with that patient, according to hospital and state health officials.
— Victoria Colliver
Appropriators are planning to work through the weekend to prep coronavirus bill for passage.
The total package is expected to be lower than the $8.5 billion Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed earlier this week, landing somewhere between $6 billion and $8 billion. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) confirmed Thursday that the package will exceed the $4 billion House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has suggested.
The measure is likely to include orders requiring the Trump administration to replenish the $136 million it plans to transfer from various health accounts to pad out its coronavirus response.
The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Thursday that it is in the process of shifting $5 million from substance abuse and mental health programs, in addition to raiding $37 million from a program that helps low-income households pay their energy bills. The administration also wants to take $63 million from the National Institutes of Health, $4.8 million from Children and Families Services Programs, $4.2 million from Aging and Disability programs and $5.2 million from various CDC programs.
— Caitlin Emma
The U.S. is suspending some travel for military and civilian Defense Department personnel to and within the Middle East.
All leave and liberty travel with the Central Command theater is banned until further notice due to concerns over the coronavirus, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO. For example, personnel assigned to a unit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, cannot travel to the United Arab Emirates or Jeddah for the weekend.
The military took the extra step of also banning all non-essential travel specifically within Saudi Arabia, which includes “going to the mall, movies, other crowded venues or recreational facilities/establishments,” according to the memo.
The ban does not extend to “essential travel,” which includes transit between controlled access compounds and authorized hotels, grocery stores and medical appointments. The ban also does not apply to leave outside the theater, according to the memo.
— Lara Seligman
The top HELP Democrat called for Pence's removal from coronavirus response.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) on Thursday called on President Donald Trump to replace Vice President Mike Pence as head of the coronavirus response team, citing the vice president’s “lack of public health experience and record of putting ideology over science.”
The push from Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, came hours after Pence named Debbie Birx, the U.S. government’s leader for combatting HIV/AIDS globally, as the Trump administration’s coronavirus “coordinator.”
Murray’s letter to Trump delved into Pence’s history as Indiana governor, where the vice president faced the largest HIV outbreak in the state’s history. Murray said Pence’s “months of inaction led to costly results” in Indiana, and called for Trump to fill Pence’s coronavirus role with a public health leader experienced in infectious disease control.
“Vice President Pence’s leadership failure during the Indiana HIV outbreak is reason enough to question his ability to lead the federal government’s response to coronavirus at this time,” the letter said. “At a time when science and public health considerations should be driving all decision-making and the public is looking to the federal government for clear, fact-based communications, it is clear that Vice President Pence is neither a responsible nor a reliable selection to lead the coronavirus response.”
— Myah Ward
Congressional Democrats demanded that funding for the coronavirus response should be 'entirely new.'
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are insisting the money cannot be "stolen from other accounts" and must include stipulations to prevent Trump from transferring the funding to anything besides combating infectious diseases.
The Democratic leaders are also calling for any potential vaccine to be both affordable and widely available, that interest-free loans be made available for small businesses affected by the outbreak, and that state and local governments are reimbursed for helping the federal response to the virus.
Pelosi and Schumer said in a statement that they "stand ready to work in a bipartisan fashion in Congress and with the administration to achieve this necessary goal."
"Lives are at stake — this is not the time for name-calling or playing politics."
— Jennifer Scholtes
Betsy DeVos said that she’s set up a task force to coordinate the Education Department's response.
DeVos said during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing that she’s appointed her top deputy, Mick Zais, to lead the task force.
“We continue to work with the other agencies across government to ensure that we are prepared,” DeVos told lawmakers.
Federal public health officials have urged schools to brace for more cases of the virus in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that schools across the country develop contingency plans for school dismissals and closures, as well as the continuation of classes online.
President Donald Trump said during a news conference on Wednesday that “schools should be preparing and get ready, just in case.”
In Japan, The Japan Times reported that all schools have been asked to close for about a month, beginning Monday.
— Michael Stratford
Early missteps and a lack of a consistent message make the nation's disease-fighting agency a focus of criticism.
Robert Redfield was a well-known AIDS researcher and favorite of Christian conservatives when President Donald Trump picked him to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2018, where he has helped implement sweeping plans to fight HIV and opioids in the United States while pushing to tackle Ebola abroad.
But confronted by the increasingly global coronavirus outbreak, CDC and Redfield’s actions are now under intense scrutiny — both inside and outside the administration. Read more about how Trump’s CDC chief is facing increasingly harsh scrutiny.
— Dan Diamond
Top House Intelligence investigator departing Capitol Hill
Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who played a major role in the impeachment proceedings, is leaving his perch on the House Intelligence Committee, a move that underscores how House Democrats are shifting away from high-profile investigations into President Donald Trump in the run-up to the November elections.
Ever since impeachment, independents have gotten really clear on which party cares about them
Donald Trump’s impeachment and subsequent acquittal have clearly focused the minds of independent voters as to which party really gives a damn about them. When asked whether Democrats or Republicans are "more concerned with the needs of people like you?”, respondents consistently moved toward Democrats over the course of the impeachment process, and strikingly so after Senate Republicans acquitted Trump, according to data from Civiqs.
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi first announced the inquiry, a plurality of 34% of independent respondents said “neither” party cared, while 31% said Democrats, and 29% said Republicans. But over the course of the inquiry, the “neither” contingent dwindled, with most poll respondents concluding Democrats cared more about their personal concerns.
By the time House Democrats impeached Trump, a plurality of 33% of respondents said Democrats were more concerned with them, while “neither” and Republicans tied at 31%. But after Senate Republicans acquitted Trump, the share of independent voters saying Democrats cared about people like them shot up to 37%, while Republicans stagnated at 31% and “neither” dwindled down to 27%.
Civiqs ResultsThis data reinforces recent polling from Gallup showing that nearly 60% of voters think their congressional representative deserves to be reelected, the highest level of public satisfaction with congressional members since 2012. Both surveys bode well for Democrats in November.
But hey, impeachment was supposed to doom Democrats’ politically and pundits tell us Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is masterful for selling out our country. Apparently, independent voters don’t agree.
CPAC 2020: GOP reps warn Dems will ‘never stop’ trying to take down Trump in wake of impeachment
The Conservative Political Action Conference kicked off Thursday morning with top Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows warning that Democrats are “never going to stop” trying to take down President Trump in the wake of the Russia investigation and impeachment vote.
CPAC crowd applauds absence of Mitt Romney
The Thursday morning crowd at the 2020 Conservative Political Action Conference applauded the absence of Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who was disinvited last month after crossing President Trump on an impeachment vote.
"Not having Mitt Romney at CPAC worked out just fine," said American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp, ...
Morning Digest: Louisiana congressman is the latest House Republican to call it quits in 2020
The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Carolyn Fiddler, and Matt Booker, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.
Leading Off
● LA-05: On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Ralph Abraham announced that he would retire in 2020 after serving three terms representing the 5th District in northeastern Louisiana. Abraham had long signaled he was thinking of not seeking re-election both before and after he lost the all-party primary for governor in 2019, but Republicans are all but assured of holding his seat after it backed Trump by a wide 63-34 margin according to Daily Kos Elections' calculations.
Campaign ActionAbraham first won his seat in 2014 by defeating incumbent GOP Rep. Vance McAllister, who had won an upset in a 2013 special election but had quickly found himself embroiled in scandal after he was caught on security camera tape passionately making out with a staffer who was not his wife. Under pressure from then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, McAllister announced he would not run for re-election. After Cantor lost renomination, however, McAllister changed his mind, but he came in a distant fourth with just 11% while Abraham advanced to the runoff and prevailed.
Abraham's more recent attempt at higher office didn't go quite so well, though. After spending much of the race as the frontrunner on the Republican side to take on Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, Abraham was eventually outpaced by self-funding businessman Eddie Rispone, who poured over $10 million of his own money into the race while Abraham struggled to raise money and get his message out. Rispone emerged as the Republican to face Edwards in the runoff, edging out Abraham by 27-24 against Edwards' 47% in the primary. However, with some unhappy Abraham supporters likely sitting out the runoff or backing Edwards, the incumbent prevailed 51-49 in the second round.
Abraham was one of the few Republicans to make a term limit pledge during his initial run, promising to serve no more than three terms, and he's one of the even fewer Republicans to actually abide by such a pledge. The race to succeed him will likely see considerable interest by local Republicans, and races in Louisiana see all candidates run on a single Nov. 3 primary ballot, with the top-two finishers advancing to a Dec. 5 runoff regardless of party if no one takes a majority in November.
Senate
● AL-Sen: Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has launched two new ads ahead of next week's Republican primary. The first spot sees Sessions talking to the camera to say he's running for Senate to help Trump enact his agenda, claiming he needs a "warrior for truth." The second ad attacks former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville on immigration, playing a clip where he speaks favorably about letting immigrants come to the U.S and "become citizens." The narrator also hits Tuberville for living, voting, and paying taxes in Florida instead of the state he's wanting to represent.
● GA-Sen-B: The anti-tax Club for Growth, which is supporting GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler, has unveiled a new TV ad opposing Republican Rep. Doug Collins. The commercial hits Collins for supporting new taxes such as a "bed tax" on hospitals that supposedly cost $200 per patient and a state constitutional amendment raising the sales tax rate.
House
● CA-50: SurveyUSA for KGTV-TV and The San Diego Union Tribune: Ammar Campa-Najjar (D): 35, Darrell Issa (R): 21, Carl DeMaio (R): 15, Brian Jones (R): 7
● FL-19: One candidate in the crowded Republican primary whom we haven't yet mentioned is urologist William Figlesthaler, who joined the race last fall. Figlesthaler raised $126,000 and self-funded a sizable $410,000 in the fourth quarter, and his $507,000 in cash-on-hand was the most of any candidate in the Republican primary. Meanwhile, state House Majority Leader Dane Eagle raised the most from donors, taking in $422,000 and holding $375,000 on-hand at the start of the year. Also in the six-figures club was businessman Ford O'Connell, who raised $110,000, self-funded $200,000, and held $307,000 in the bank at the end of the quarter.
Further behind was Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson, who raised $68,000 and held $67,000 on-hand, while state Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen raised just $32,000 and had $30,000 in the bank. Bringing up the rear among donors was former Minnesota state House Minority Whip Dan Severson, who raised only $4,000 but self-funded $100,000 to finish with $103,000 on-hand. Finally, state Rep. Byron Donalds did not file a fourth quarter report since he only made his campaign official in January.
● GA-07: Former Home Depot executive Lynne Homrich's latest Republican primary ad reaches new depths of Trump sycophancy with a tagline saying she "hates politics, loves Trump." Homrich plays clips of national Democrats such as Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi, and Homrich says she'll oppose them and fight for conservative values and Trump's agenda.
● TX-02: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has endorsed attorney Sima Ladjevardian ahead of next week's Democratic primary.
Legislative
● Special Elections: Here's a recap of Tuesday's three special elections.
KY-HD-67: Democrat Rachel Roberts defeated Republican Mary Jo Wedding 64-36 to hold this suburban Cincinnati seat for her party. Roberts outperformed Hillary Clinton's 49-44 loss in this district by a wide margin and even slightly improved on Andy Beshear's 61-36 win here in last year's gubernatorial election.
KY-HD-99: Republican Richard White defeated Democrat Bill Redwine 56-44 to flip this rural eastern Kentucky to the GOP. Democrats had hoped to hang onto this ancestrally blue seat that backed Beshear 50-48. However, the district's sharp rightward drift at the presidential level (Donald Trump was victorious here 68-28) was ultimately too much for Democrats to overcome.
This chamber is now at full strength, and Republicans have a 62-38 advantage.
PA-HD-190: Democrat Roni Green turned back Republican Wanda Logan 86-14 to hold this seat for her party. While Logan's 14% is unusually strong for a GOP candidate in a district Clinton won 96-3, Logan was not a traditional Republican. She ran for this seat in every election from 2012-2018, each time as a Democrat.
Republicans remain in control of this chamber 107-93, with three other seats vacant.
Top impeachment investigator to leave House Intel post
Who is in the presidential line of succession?
In the aftermath of President Trump's impeachment, and an upcoming election where a Democratic candidate will eventually name a running mate, one question that remains in the back of many voters' minds is who is next in line should the president leave office for one reason or another. While most people are aware that the Vice President is next in line, the full line of succession includes 18 positions.
MSNBC Benches Contributor Who Smeared Bernie Sanders Staffers
