Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Uh oh: “A handful of Republican senators on Wednesday threatened to delay the $2 trillion coronavirus spending bill over a proposed increase to unemployment insurance.”
* Another key detail: “Democratic aides in the Senate said on Wednesday that eligible Americans with direct-deposit bank account information on file with the Internal Revenue Service for tax refunds — about 70 million people — should see their payments arrive within a few weeks of the bill being signed into law. Eligible Americans who do not have such information on file, and thus will be waiting for a check in the mail from the I.R.S., will need to wait up to four months to receive one, the aides said.”
* Pentagon: “All U.S. troop movements overseas will halt for 60 days because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to defense officials. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper signed an order halting the movements on Wednesday. The order states troops overseas cannot move back to the U.S. and troops in the U.S. cannot move overseas for two months. It applies to uniformed military, civilians and dependents.”
* DOJ: “The Justice Department has notified the nation’s federal prosecutors that anyone threatening or attempting to spread the coronavirus can be charged with terrorism.”
* Germany: “German Chancellor Angela Merkel has tested negative for coronavirus for a second time and will undergo another test at the beginning of next week, a government spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday.”
* On a related note: “For weeks, virologists here have been asked a persistent question: Why, compared to other countries, are so few of the Germans who are diagnosed with the coronavirus dying? … The biggest reason for the difference, infectious disease experts say, is Germany’s work in the early days of its outbreak to track, test and contain infection clusters.”
* Michael McKenna: “A top legislative aide was removed from the White House over a complaint about unspecified ‘statements’ he made, but he pledged his loyalty to President Donald Trump on his way out.” * The Selective Service System: “Women have been serving the United States military for generations, sewing uniforms during the Revolutionary War and nursing the wounded during World War II. They have flown fighter jets, commanded warships and more recently fought in combat on the front lines. But they have never been required to register for a military draft. That could soon change.” * Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) this morning accused China of “unleashing” COVID-19, adding that as far as the Arkansas Republican is concerned, “there will be a reckoning when we’re on the back side of it.” Oh my. See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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