Republican senators Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler

Two Republican Senators dumped stock after receiving briefings on the coronavirus crisis and before the plunge in stock prices.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) both revealed their actions in ethics filings.

Here’s some of what people were saying about the GOP senators:

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Republican Senator Ron Johnson

On Monday, March 2nd, the Dow Jones Industrial Average set its biggest-ever point gain.

But Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) was massively selling.

Johnson, who has a net worth estimated at over $36 million, made a major transaction.

The exact amount is unknown, as ethics forms only require disclosure in broad ranges, but Johnson reported selling over $5 million that day — and potentially up to $25 million.

In a report filed today, Sen. Ron Johnson R-WI with a very large stock sale earlier this month.

Republican Senator Jim Inhofe

The GOP Senate Caucus faced a massive scandal on Thursday after multiple GOP senators revealed in public filings that they had sold large stock holdings after private briefings on the coronavirus scandal.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) have all be implicated in the scandal.

Now conservative Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe has also been caught up, after reporting he sold in late February.

There have been calls for the implicated lawmakers to resign from office over the scandal.

Republican Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota

Scrutiny over financial bets placed by Republican senators after private briefings on the coronavirus pandemic increased on Friday.

On Thursday, multiple Republican senators filed public documents revealing that large shifts in investments.

“GOP Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., purchased between $100,000 and $250,000 of stock in a fund invested in health sciences companies in late January, just days after attending a briefing on the federal government’s response to the coronavirus,” CNBC reported Friday.

“The Jan. 29 purchase of shares in the BlackRock Health Sciences Trust II fund, detailed in Hoeven’s financial disclosure report filed in February, came before markets began plunging later that month, once the unfolding public health crisis began to affect economies around the world,” CNBC noted. “It came five days after Hoeven was briefed by officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the State Department on efforts to contain COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.”

The senator’s office says the deal was not motivated by his private […]

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Republican senators voting against the expanded sick leave bill Credit: truthdig

Republican senators on Wednesday teamed up to kill an amendment introduced by Democratic Sen. Patty Murray that would have expanded paid sick leave to millions of U.S. workers left out of a bipartisan coronavirus relief package.

Every Republican present for the vote, 51 in total, voted against the amendment while every Senate Democrat voted in favor.

Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) were the only senators who did not vote on the amendment, which would have guaranteed two weeks of paid sick leave as well as 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to all U.S. employees and independent contractors.

“[Fifty one] Republican senators just voted against an amendment… that would have expanded paid leave to millions of Americans left out of the package,” tweeted progressive advocacy group Indivisible. “Let that sink in.”

“If one of these Republicans (or two!) is your senator,” the group added, “call their office right now and tell them you saw their vote and you […]

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