Coronavirus: The Hill and the Headlines, November 2 2020

Your guide to the latest Hill developments, news narratives, and media headlines from Hogan Lovells Government Relations and Public Affairs practice.

In Washington:

  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who have not agreed on much related to the COVID-19 response in recent months, differed again Friday when asked about when a stimulus package could pass.  McConnell told radio host Hugh Hewitt that he expects to handle relief “right at the beginning of the year,” with legislation “targeted particularly at small businesses that are struggling and hospitals that are now dealing with a second wave of the coronavirus.”  Pelosi said she expects Congress “certainly will have something [done] at the start of the new presidency.” But Pelosi also told MSNBC that “we don’t want to have to wait that long, because people have needs.” 

 

  • According to Politico, President Trump and his top aides are planning a huge Cabinet overhaul if he wins a second term.  Many of those that he is looking to replace are key health-related officials who he views as “disloyal, slow-acting or naysayers” including those who “take a different, more strict tact on the coronavirus response.”  This development may mean the departures of agency heads like Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) head Robert Redfield, National Institutes of Health head Francis Collins and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services head Seema Verma.  Also related, at a Miami rally on Sunday evening, President Trump suggested that he will fire the country’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci after the crowd repeatedly shouted “Fire Fauci.”

 

  • The White House has moved its election party from the Trump International Hotel on Tuesday night to the White House, according to spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany on Monday. The Trump administration is expecting several hundred people and everyone will be tested for COVID-19. 

 

  • White House coronavirus advisor Scott Atlas on Sunday issued an apology for giving an interview to a Russian sponsored news agency that is registered as a foreign agent. Atlas tweeted, “I recently did an interview with RT and was unaware they are a registered foreign agent. I regret doing the interview and apologize for allowing myself to be taken advantage of. I especially apologize to the national security community who is working hard to defend us.” The White House claims that Atlas did not have clearance from the Trump administration for his interview with RT” and said Atlas “did it on his own without approval by the White House.” In the interview on Saturday, Atlas made a series of dubious claims and misrepresentations about the coronavirus.

 

  • President Trump enraged health care workers and medical groups by reiterating his baseless claim that “doctors get more money if someone dies from COVID” throughout the weekend at his rallies. “You know, our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID. You know that, right?” Trump told a rally in Waterford Township, Michigan, on Friday, a claim he has repeated for weeks.

 

  • Amid the unprecedentedly large move to mail-in-vote due to COVID-19, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reported its third consecutive day of fewer on-time ballot deliveries in swing states this past weekend. In a Sunday filing in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, the agency said its on-time score fell from 93 percent to 91 percent from Friday to Saturday, continuing a decline that began on Wednesday. The agency reported moving only 62 percent of ballots in Central Pennsylvania and 64 percent in both the district covering Atlanta and the northern New England district, which covers Maine and New Hampshire. Judge Emmet Sullivan, a Clinton appointee, is currently weighing whether to require more steps to improve on-time scores ahead of the election.

 

  • U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen today threw out a suit challenging the legality of some 127,000 votes cast at drive-through voting sites in the Houston area. Hanen, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled the plaintiffs don't have legal standing to sue. Harris County, Texas' most populous county, and majority-Democratic, set up tents to expedite early voting and allow people to vote safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The suit was brought by a group of Republican activists who argued the move by Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, a Democrat, unlawfully expanded curbside voting, which is permitted under Texas law. It is unclear whether the plaintiffs will appeal. President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are running neck-and-neck in recent Texas polls.

 

  • The CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantine do not preclude Americans from voting in the election, a CDC spokesperson said on Monday. In-person voting can be carried out safely following CDC’s recommendations for polling location and voters, the spokesperson said. When possible, alternative voting options – which minimize contact between voters and poll workers – should be made available for people with COVID-19, those who have symptoms of COVID-19, and those who have been exposed, the spokesperson added.

In the News:

  • There are at least 9,220,933 coronavirus cases in the U.S. and at least 231,077 people have died from the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Thirty-one U.S. states have reported at least one record-high day of new coronavirus cases in the past month.

 

  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Saturday that England will face a second national lockdown this week, with non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment buildings set to close, and pubs, bars and restaurants only permitted to provide takeout or delivery services.

 

  • World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced late last night that he is self-quarantining after he came into contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus, although he added that he was symptom-free and feeling well. 

 

  • U.S. manufacturing picked up in October, with new orders climbing to their highest level in nearly 17 years, Reuters reports The Institute for Supply Management reported its index of national factory activity rose to 59.3 last month — the highest reading since November 2018.

 

  • Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte on Monday announced a new set of national measures to stop what his health minister called a "terrifying" surge in cases. The restrictions would vary by region but would include a "late evening" curfew for many regions in the country currently not under such a restriction, as well as the closure of some businesses.

 

 

Authored by Ivan Zapien

Contacts
Ivan Zapien
Partner
Washington, D.C.
Shelley Castle
Legislative Specialist
Washington, D.C.

 

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