Sunday shows – Talk turns to reopening, protests

Discussions on the Sunday morning political talk shows turned to reopening a U.S. economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic and demonstrations in multiple states against restrictions implemented to control the outbreak.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and top Democrats also said an agreement was close on another round of federal coronavirus aid.

Read The Hill’s complete coverage below.

Pence dodges when pressed by Fox’s Chris Wallace on Trump ‘LIBERATE’ tweets By ZACK BUDRYK   Vice President Pence did not directly address tweets by President Trump calling to “LIBERATE” states that have seen protests against their governors’ social distancing measures when pressed by Fox News’s Chris Wallace on Sunday, instead saying that the demonstrations show Americans’ eagerness to get back to work. Read the full story here

Pelosi: ‘Really unfortunate’ that protesters are pushing back against coronavirus restrictions By JUSTIN WISE   Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is speaking out against demonstrators who are gathering in some states to protest stringent stay-at-home orders designed to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.  Read the full story here

Washington governor: Trump urges ‘insubordination’ and ‘illegal activity’ by supporting protesters By JUSTINE COLEMAN   Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said Sunday that President Trump is urging “insubordination” and “illegal activity” by supporting demonstrators protesting stay-at-home orders in multiple states.  Read the full story here

‘I don’t think it’s helpful to encourage demonstrations’ against stay-at-home orders, Maryland governor says By REBECCA KLAR    “I don’t think it’s helpful to encourage demonstrations, and encourage people to go against the president’s own policy,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”  Read the full story here

Whitmer defends stay-at-home order: ‘We are seeing the curve start to flatten’ By REBECCA KLAR    Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) defended criticism of her state’s aggressive stay-at-home order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and said the measures are starting to flatten the curve. Read the full story here

Birx: Testing must be performed ‘down to the community’ for accurate reopening timeline By ZACK BUDRYK   Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House’s coronavirus response, said Sunday that coronavirus testing must be focused more on individual communities as those communities and their states develop plans for reopening. Read the full story here

Pelosi: Fauci’s testing recommendation ‘hasn’t been done’ By ZACK BUDRYK   Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that despite National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci’s endorsement of the Trump administration’s rapid coronavirus testing plan as a step toward reopening the economy, “it hasn’t been done.” Read the full story here

Virginia governor says it’s ‘delusional’ for Trump to say states have testing capacity By REBECCA KLAR   Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Sunday that his state does not have the necessary coronavirus testing capacity, directly challenging comments made by President Trump the day before. Read the full story here

Maryland governor: ‘Absolutely false’ for Trump to say states have testing capacity to reopen By JUSTIN WISE   Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Sunday that it was “absolutely false” to suggest that the United States’ coronavirus testing capacity is at a level to safely begin reopening portions of the economy, disputing comments made by President Trump just a day earlier. Read the full story here

Treasury secretary, Democratic leaders ‘hopeful’ for agreement on coronavirus package Sunday By REBECCA KLAR   Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Democratic congressional leaders say they’re hopeful a deal on funding for the popular Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses will be reached and a bill will pass in the coming days. Read the full story here

Pelosi: Lawmakers ‘very close’ on bipartisan agreement for additional PPP funding By J. EDWARD MORENO    Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Congress is “very close” to a deal on additional funding for the small business Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  Read the full story here

Treasury secretary says economy will rebound in months: ‘I definitely don’t think it will be years’ By REBECCA KLAR    Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” how long it will take before the economy is back to the “strong position” it was in before the pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin  said, “I think it will be months. I definitely don’t think it will be years.” Read the full story here

Stephen Moore on economy: ‘We may have turned a corner’ By J. EDWARD MORENO   Economist Stephen Moore said during an interview broadcast on Sunday that the U.S. economy “may have turned a corner” as governors begin to think about next steps to reopen their states.  Read the full story here

Poll: Majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of coronavirus outbreak By JUSTIN WISE    A majority of American voters disapprove of President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak and believe he did not take the pandemic seriously enough at the beginning of the crisis, according to a new NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll.  Read the full story here

Pelosi responds to Trump tweets: ‘Frankly, I don’t pay that much attention to the president’s tweets against me’ By JUSTINE COLEMAN   Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday called President Trump “a poor leader” and said she doesn’t “pay that much attention to the president’s tweets against me.” Read the full story here