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GOPEN UP SESAME -- Calls are growing in the GOP to open up the economy and return the country to normal. While some Republicans are still expressing caution and emphasizing that restrictions need to be lifted gradually, others are being more aggressive in calling for an off-ramp. It should have happened yesterday, said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who has pleaded his case in op-eds, letters and numerous texts and phone calls to the White House and GOP leadership. And Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-Ind.) told a local radio station that policymakers need to put on their big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils."

The growing pressure comes as President Donald Trump has already been itching to restart the economy, which was supposed to be the GOPs crown jewel heading into the 2020 election. The president assembled a task force to explore ways to get the country moving again and has mused about reopening as soon as May 1. But the push has sparked a backlash among Democrats, who warn there could be another deadly spike in cases if they ignore the advice of health experts.

And there are also constitutional concerns at play. Some Republicans think decisions about commerce are best left up to the states and local governments, despite Trump recently declaring that his authority is total. That comment prompted some mild criticism from Republicans: Rep. Liz Cheney tweeted that the federal government does not have absolute power, while Sen. Marco Rubio argued the Constitution & common sense dictates these decisions be made at the state level. The dispatch from Burgess, your Huddle host and Marianne: https://politi.co/3adSedU.

Speaking of executive power ... Reps. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) and Justin Amash (I-Mich.) trolled Trump by introducing a one-line resolution that says when someone is the president of the United States, their authority is not total.

Related reads: CDC, FEMA have created a plan to reopen America. Heres what it says, by WaPos Lena H. Sun, Josh Dawsey and William Wan: https://wapo.st/2V6QvCV; and Why Trump cant flip the switch on the economy, via Ben White: https://politi.co/2yeEK4o.

President Donald Trump departs after speaking about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

STILL STALLED -- No movement yet on the small business aid that is stuck in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he hopes Democrats will stop holding things up and let Congress act this week, while Speaker Nancy Pelosi said we cannot accept Leader McConnells proposals that would ... do nothing to aid desperate hospitals and state and local governments. (The speaker also tore into Trump in a scathing Dear Colleague letter, saying a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility.) And Trump weighed in on the whole saga via tweet: Democrats dont want to approve more money for our great workers under the incredibly successful Paycheck plan. Replenish Account Now!

Meanwhile The New York and New Jersey delegations are urging House and Senate leaders to create a new $40 billion fund that hands out cash to states based on infections rather than the standard lump sum given to each state. The bipartisan group, which includes roughly 40 members, sent a letter to congressional leaders after one analysis showed that states like Nebraska and Montana have received roughly $300,000 in aid per reported case, compared to New York, which received about $12,000 per case.

For Democrats, theyre treading carefully when it comes to dealing with Trump. Lawmakers are trying to strike a delicate balance between working with the administration to help their states and also holding the president accountable, knowing full well that any criticism could spark retribution from Trump. Thats one reason why Democrats are increasingly turning to other officials like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Vice President Mike Pence. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) even sent Pence a thank you note for helping him secure N95 masks. The story from Marianne, Burgess and Sarah: https://politi.co/34FNlcG.

Related reads: Republicans warn coronavirus aid program running out of cash, by Reuters David Morgan and Susan Cornwell: https://reut.rs/2yk0rAg; and Small Business Loan Funds Running Out With Congress Stalled, from Bloombergs Josh Wingrove, Laura Litvan and Billy House: https://bloom.bg/2VsbiQu.

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ITS GONNA BE MAY -- McConnell announced that the Senate wont convene until May 4, joining House leaders in delaying their return to the Capitol. The decision to extend the Senate recess which McConnell made in consultation with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and public health officials means bills can only pass by unanimous consent for the next three weeks. As the country continues working together to flatten the curve the full Senate is not expected to travel back to Washington D.C. sooner than Monday, May 4th," McConnell said. More from Burgess: https://politi.co/3a71MYk.

Related reads: Some staff in the Capitol told to wear masks, but not lawmakers, per Roll Calls Chris Marquette: https://bit.ly/2VsX69V; and Sidelined by Coronavirus, Congressional Leaders Face Pressure to Vote Remotely, by NYTs Sheryl Gay Stolberg: https://nyti.ms/3bd5xwr.

WERE HALFWAY THERE! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, April 15, where Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) is living proof that safety measures can still be fashionable.

TUESDAYS MOST CLICKED: Burgess, Heather and Zachary Warmbrodts story on the stalled small business aid was the winner.

WHOS WHO -- Trump announced that he is halting funding to the World Health Organization while his administration reviews the group's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The WHO has emerged as a top target on the right, with critics slamming the organization for opposing early travel restrictions to China and accusing the WHO of being overly deferential to the Chinese early on in the outbreak. "With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have deep concerns whether Americas generosity has been put to the best use possible," Trump said during his nightly press briefing.

But the controversial move is sure to reignite a battle with congressional Democrats, who are already crying foul over the move. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) compared the decision to "cutting off ammunition to an ally as the enemy closes in." And Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) suggested Trump does not have the legal authority to withhold funds appropriated by Congress. You might think Donald Trump would have learned this important fact during the past 9 months! he tweeted, referring to the Ukraine scandal that led to Trumps impeachment. The latest from Alice Miranda Ollstein: https://politi.co/2wFa9N3.

Related read: Scoop: Lawmakers demand answers from WHO, via Axios Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian: https://bit.ly/3cuGsO7.

BURRNING UP -- It looks like Sen. Richard Burr is embroiled in another controversy. ProPublica with the scoop: The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, has come under fire in recent weeks for unloading stock holdings right before the market crashed on fears of coronavirus and for a timely sale of shares in an obscure Dutch fertilizer company. Now the North Carolina Republicans 2017 sale of his Washington, D.C., home to a group led by a donor and powerful lobbyist who had business before Burrs committee is raising additional ethical questions.

Burr sold the small townhouse, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, for what, by some estimates, was an above market price $900,000 to a team led by lobbyist John Green. That is tens of thousands of dollars above some estimates of the propertys value by tax assessors, a real estate website and a local real estate agent. The sale was done off-market, without the home being listed for sale publicly. Green is a longtime donor to Burrs political campaigns and has co-hosted at least one fundraiser for him. In 2017, the year of the sale, Green lobbied on behalf of a stream of clients with business before Burrs committees. The story from Robert Faturechi: https://bit.ly/3cn25PY.

ALSO! Carole Baskin and Doc Antle, who were both featured in Netflixs Tiger King documentary, have both donated to Burr (h/t to Dave Levinthal and Allan Smith.)

COLLINS CALLS OUT TRUMP -- Sen. Susan Collins, one of the most vulnerable Republicans up for reelection this fall, had some choice words for Trumps handling of the coronavirus crisis during an interview with Burgess. The dispatch: Susan Collins hasnt decided whether to endorse or oppose President Donald Trumps reelection bid. But she has reached a conclusion on his public performance during the coronavirus pandemic: Very uneven.

The Maine Republican senator said in an interview on Tuesday that Trump has been effective when hes focused on the coronavirus response and the recommendations of public health experts like Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S. But when hes beefing with governors and journalists, far less so. There are times when I think his message has been spot on and he has really deferred to the public health officials who have been with him at these press conferences, Collins said. And then there are times when I think hes been off message and has brought up extraneous issues. So I think its been mixed. More: https://politi.co/2K98baG.

Related read: Mark Kelly widens fundraising lead over Martha McSally in big-dollar Senate race, via Henry Brean of the Arizona Daily Star: https://bit.ly/2XyMwRn.

WHO LET THE WATCHDOGS OUT -- Trumps recent attacks on the independent community of inspectors general has brought together a broad coalition of critics in Congress, report Andrew and Kyle. The story: Two key Republican senators on Tuesday raised alarm about President Donald Trumps recent hostility toward the governments internal watchdogs, tacitly warning that he has threatened their independence and asking the president to support, rather than undermine, them.

The GOP senators gentle rebuke of Trump is the latest in an unusual, concerted push by Democrats, Republicans and the federal watchdog community to brush back the president for his incursion into the independence of inspectors general. And it came just minutes before a bipartisan duo, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote to Michael Horowitz, who leads the council of inspectors general, demanding information about the White Houses process for vetting and submitting nominees for confirmation by the Senate. The latest: https://politi.co/2Vbe2Tb.

Related: Stimulus Oversight Panel Has One Person Trying to Watch $2.2 Trillion Alone, by Bloombergs Joshua Green: https://bloom.bg/2ygKRoO.

David Mork is now assistant VP at Zurich North America. He previously was COS to former Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.).

The House and Senate are out.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) holds his weekly pen and pad briefing via teleconference beginning at 11 a.m.

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) holds a webcast on "the coronavirus' disproportionate impact on Black America beginning at noon.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) holds a telephone town hall to provide an update on mitigating the spread of COVID-19 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAYS WINNER: Dan Cohen was the first person to guess that seven speakers of the House regained their position to serve in the role non-consecutively.

TODAYS QUESTION: From yours truly: Of all the current senators who have written books, who has written the most? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess to [emailprotected].

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Republicans crank up the pressure on Trump to open the economy - Politico