Impact2020: April 22, 2020
Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Wednesday, April 22. A Florida congresswoman violated federal law, President Trump injects immigration back into the campaign, and a look at the groups behind the protests to “reopen” the country.
On the Ground
Stock sale scrutiny
Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala of Florida violated federal law when she failed to disclose stock sales while serving in Congress, the Miami Herald’s Alex Daugherty reports.
Credit: Carolyn Kaster/AP
Shalala, the lone House Democrat on the committee set up to oversee $500 billion in taxpayer money being used for coronavirus-related payouts to large businesses, told the Herald on Monday that “she sold a variety of stocks throughout 2019 to eliminate any potential conflicts of interest after she was elected to Congress in November 2018.”
But Daugherty notes “the transactions were not publicly reported as required by the STOCK Act, a 2012 law that prohibits members of Congress and their employees from using private information gleaned from their official positions for personal benefit and requires them to report stock sales and purchases within 45 days.”
Shalala’s office is calling it a mistake. It’s unclear if the first-term Miami congresswoman will receive any punishment.
Playing the hits
After making immigration a cornerstone of his 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump is tackling the issue again amidst the coronavirus pandemic, signing an executive order on Wednesday temporarily halting immigration to the U.S.
The order will be in place for at least 60 day, but Trump said he could re-evaluate an “extension or modification” based on the state of the economy, McClatchy’s Michael Wilner reports. The order grants an exception for farm workers and the immediate family members of American citizens.
Trump said that the order was intended to “put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs.”
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign sent out an email to supporters with a link to a survey asking them to express support for the order.
Tea Party 2.0?
“If those protests to ‘reopen’ the country seem reminiscent of the Tea Party movement, there may be a good reason,” Mike Hendricks and Kevin Hardy report for the Kansas City Star. “Some of the same folks who were instrumental in mobilizing public opinion a decade ago in the midst of the Great Recession are once again channeling some Americans’ rage against perceived government overreach. …
“Among them is Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots. The advocacy group Meckler currently heads, Citizens for Self-Governance, has played a big role in coordinating the reopen movement by creating a clickable directory of the Facebook groups that have sprung up this month to advocate for a swift end to the stay-at-home edicts state and local officials ordered to check the spread of the … coronavirus.”
Trail Mix
Election disruption
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to issue an executive order sending ballots by mail to all of the state’s voters ahead of the June 23 primary, Zack Fink reports for NY1.
Just 22% of Ohio voters have asked for an absentee ballot ahead of next week’s mostly mail election, Darrel Rowland writes for the Columbus Dispatch.
In Georgia, officials are sending out the first wave of absentee ballots to the 650,000 voters who have requested them for the June 9 primary, Mark Niesse notes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Battleground state watch
The AP’s Scott Bauer wraps up Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to a GE Healthcare manufacturing facility in Madison, Wis.
Republican leaders of the Wisconsin legislature are asking the Supreme Court to stop Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration from keeping businesses and schools closed through May, Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
The Milwaukee Common Council approved a program to send all of the city’s 300,000 registered voters an absentee ballot in the mail with a postage-paid return envelope for the November elections, the Journal Sentinel’s Alison Dirr reports.
Daphne Chen, Catharina Felke, Elizabeth Mulvey and Stephen Stirling report in an investigation for the Journal Sentinel that broad failures fueled Wisconsin’s absentee ballot crisis earlier this month.
Just over a week after endorsing Trump, Georgia Democratic state Rep. Vernon Jones announced he is resigning, Maya T. Prabhu reports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Governor watch
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, once touted as the “education governor,” now has to decide whether to cut spending for K-12 public schools to close a budget shortfall caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Jonathan Shorman and Mará Rose Williams write for the Wichita Eagle.
Modesto, San Luis Obispo and Placerville are some of the California cities asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to soften the stay-at-home order he issued to slow the coronavirus outbreak, Andrew Sheeler reports for the Sacramento Bee.
Battle for Congress
GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler is trying to refocus her message on Georgia’s response to the coronavirus crisis – and away from her stock transactions before the November election, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein writes.
Number of the Day
$500,000
The amount of money the Trump campaign owes El Paso, Texas, for a 2019 rally. City officials are considering filing a lawsuit, the Texas Tribune’s Julián Aguilar reports.
Not seen in this picture: Social distancing
Ethan Hyman of the News & Observer captured this scene from a shutdown protest in Raleigh, NC. From a protester in The Handmaid’s Tale-inspired costume to a sign about needing a haircut, there’s plenty to see here.
For Planning Purposes
April 28
Ohio primary (almost entirely by mail)
May 2
Kansas primary (done by mail)
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This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 12:32 PM.