Sen. Kelly Loeffler, appointed to economic task force, praises Trump, Kemp’s response to COVID-19

After more than a month of thousands of Georgians facing economic insecurity due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sen. Kelly Loeffler sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

Loeffler (R-Ga.) said she will serve on President Donald J. Trump’s task force, with the mission to “reopen America.”

“I’m really energized to use my business experience to support the President and the broader task force in this mission,” she said. “Georgians can be assured that they have someone with a front row seat helping to reopen the economy safely.”

Loeffler, the former CEO of the digital asset management company Bakkt, has nearly 30 years of business experience. She said she is focused on working with healthcare professionals to reopen the country in a data-driven, collaborative way.

“[The coronavirus is] an invisible enemy, but what it does whether you’re directly impacted or indirectly, everyone has a role to play,” she said. “I think it’s critical that we do reopen the economy, but we have to do it safely.”

Loeffler was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat in December after Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson retired early, and is running against more than a dozen opponents in a November special election.

Scrutiny for selling stocks

The senator has faced recent scrutiny for selling $20 million in stock after attending a closed-door senate briefing on the coronavirus in January.

Loeffler said she and her husband, the CEO of the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange, used a third party handler and were unaware of the transactions. She announced April 8 that she would liquidate her personal stock share positions to prevent future criticism.

“I think Georgians see that I’m up there working for them. I have done that tirelessly since my first day,” she said.

Before the March 20 stories about Loeffler’s financial transactions, her reelection campaign raised an average of nearly $7,400 per day from individual donors. That dropped to just over $6,700 per day, a nearly 10% drop.

Helping rural communities

Loeffler said she is committed to ensuring rural communities have the resources they need during the pandemic, referencing her own experience growing up on a farm.

She wants the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability Act to contribute to rural hospitals, telehealth and managing the supply chains for essential medical devices.

She commended President Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp in their efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“What we’ve seen as this situation has evolved in our country is leaders in President Trump and Gov. Kemp who have put the needs of the American people first, of Georgian’s first,” Loeffler said. “We have an administration, both at the state level and the federal level, that we can be very proud of that has acted quickly. They’ve been transparent. They’ve communicated.”

After pressure from local officials across Georgia, Kemp issued a stay at home order that took effect April 3, and he later extended the order through April 30.

Testing availability, and the lack thereof, has been noted as a “signature failure” in the United States’ response to fighting the coronavirus, according to a New York Times article.

After life returns to a version of normalcy, Loeffler said she wants to make sure businesses, farmers and the healthcare system bounce back.

“We have to make sure that our healthcare system comes back stronger than ever,” she said.

This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 11:33 AM.