To Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the impending possibility of a Donald Trump presidency is no laughing matter. So when the Democratic minority leader made a joke to reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday that he's "kind of pulling for Trump" considering the other Republicans running, he took to the floor of Congress less than an hour later to retract it.
"I tried to be funny an hour ago," Reid said. "The danger a Donald Trump candidacy poses for our country is not a joke. Since he launched his bid for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump has proven over and over again that he is a hateful demagogue who would do immeasurable damage to our country if elected."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) opted for the alternative Reid probably wishes he'd chosen — to stay mum on the matter. When pressed with questions about Trump and the presidential race, McConnell simply said he wasn't going to go there. "There'd be no place to end the discussion." Becca Stanek
Cuomo threatens to sue Rhode Island if it doesn't ease up on New Yorkers during coronavirus pandemic
The New York area has been the hardest-hit region in the United States during the novel coronavirus pandemic, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) doesn't want his state singled out.
After President Trump said he was considering quarantining New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut on Saturday, Cuomo pushed back, calling the idea "preposterous" and a "federal declaration of war," while noting he didn't think it was even legal. Eventually, Trump said it wasn't necessary, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory, urging tri-state residents to refrain from non-essential travel for the next 14 days.
But Cuomo isn't completely satisfied — he said he still may sue Rhode Island if the state doesn't halt its new policy of stopping vehicles with New York license plates and collecting information about people who have traveled between the two states. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) issued an order Friday empowering law enforcement to conduct those searches, and the National Guard will be stationed at airports and train stations for similar purposes. The National Guard will also knock on doors in coastal communities to identify anyone who has been in New York in recently to make sure they self-quarantine for 14 days.
Cuomo, though, thinks those precautions are "reactionary" and "illegal," but he is confident he and Raimondo can work out their differences "amicably" before getting the courts involved. Read more at CNN and The Hill. Tim O'Donnell
Former Vice President Joe Biden may have emerged as the leading Democratic presidential candidate because the party's more moderate bloc rallied around him, but now that the nomination looks likelier than ever, his campaign is making sure they don't lose support from the progressive wing come November, Politico reports.
"The dirty little secret is everyone's talking to Biden's campaign," said Sean McElwee, co-founder of liberal think tank Data for Progress. "There will be fights, but at the end of the day, progressives still hold votes in the Senate and increasingly Democratic voters stand behind our views. I expect we'll see Biden embracing key planks of the ambitious agenda progressives have outlined on issues like climate and pharmaceutical policy."
Most of Biden's support comes from older voters, so his team is trying to court younger generations who are more likely to back the policies MccElwee referred to. They're reaching out to groups like the climate-focused Sunrise Movement, as well as other organizations tied to gun control, immigration, and other issues. Most groups are committed to backing whoever the nominee is against Trump, but there is a sense that a lack of turnout among younger, progressive voters could hinder Biden if he's the nominee, making these efforts more crucial. And he may need to meet some expectations to convince people.
Evan Weber, the national political director for the Sunrise Movement, said their explicit support for Biden — compared to a broad anti-Trump campaign — depends on whether his campaign can "demonstrate that they are taking the climate crisis seriously." Read more at Politico. Tim O'Donnell
The U.S. government has begun to use cellphone data to get a better sense of people's movement in up to as many as 500 cities amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The tactic is not meant to track individuals, and names aren't included in the data, but instead is geared toward figuring out where people might be congregating in large numbers as calls for social distancing and lockdowns become the norm across the country. In doing so, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in conjunction with state and local officials, hope to get an idea of how the coronavirus might be spreading so they can further curb its advance.
The data, which is coming from the less-regulated mobile advertising industry rather than cell phone carriers, could also provide information on whether people are complying with their area's shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders.
Despite the intentions of the efforts, such projects will undoubtedly raise concerns about government invasion of privacy, and, while even some privacy activists understand the necessity of such efforts, they want stronger safeguards in place. Read more at The Wall Street Journal and read more about coronavirus surveillance here at The Week. Tim O'Donnell
Former Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn (R) died Saturday at his home in Tulsa after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 72.
Coburn had battled health issues for many years, and his bout with cancer led him to retire from the Senate in 2015, two years before his second term was up.
An obstetrician by training, Coburn — who served in the House before winning a seat in the upper chamber — was known for his fierce commitment to conservatism, both fiscally and socially. He was opposed to the expansion of the federal government, abortion rights, and same-sex marriage, and did not believe in global warming science.
Still, the senator also was hailed for bipartisanship — he teamed up with former Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) to issue a report on the 2008 financial crisis which accused Goldman Sachs and other powerful institutions of deception and greed. The Washington Post notes he gained the respect of many Democrats for his role in inquiries into corruption, tax avoidance, and fraudulent social security claims.
Levin said Coburn was a "terrific oversight partner in the Senate" thanks to the fact that he was "more interested in facts than politics." Read more at The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell
The novel coronavirus pandemic has shown that governments have the ability to do a lot more with their financial resources, said Michael Marmot, a professor of epidemiology and public health at the University College London, per The Guardian.
Marmot, who is also the chair of the commission of the social determinants of health at the World Health Organization, told reporters at a virtual meeting organized by Plan B and Extinction Rebellion, that "with COVID-19 everything went out the window" and that it turns out lack of government spending in the past was a choice (and not a good one, he argues), rather than a necessity. "The government can spend anything," he said, referring specifically to the United Kingdom in this instance.
Marmot said the pandemic has shown how swiftly governments can respond, but his hope is that such action continues going forward, which he argues has not been the case for other long-term crises like climate change. "Coronavirus exposes that we can do things differently," he said. "We must not go back to the status quo ante."
David King, who served as the U.K.'s chief scientific adviser between 2000 and 2008, agreed, calling for governments to address similar recovery plans to restructure the global economy, so it better fits a fossil fuel-free world. Read more at The Guardian. Tim O'Donnell