Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Monday that he will not attend the Republican National Convention next month in Florida due to concerns about the coronavirus.
“I will not go. And I will not go because of the virus situation,” Grassley, 86, said in a conference call with Iowa reporters Monday morning, according to The Des Moines Register.
The senator’s office confirmed his comments to NBC News.
This would be the first time in 40 years that Grassley, the second-highest-ranking official in the Senate, skips a Republican convention. It also highlights concerns that top Republican officials have about the virus as the president moves on the sidelines of the pandemic response and hands over the reins to his administration’s public health officials.
US health officials continue to alarm about the recent surge in coronavirus cases in the United States, with hospitals overwhelmed and some states halting their reopening plans. As of July 6, more than 2.8 million cases had been confirmed in the U.S., according to reports from NBC News. There have been more than 130,000 deaths.
Grassley in a radio interview on Monday pressed for the need to wear masks, which the President has largely resisted despite growing encouragement from Senate Republicans and even Vice President Mike Pence.
“As a citizen, I have a responsibility not to infect another person, so if wearing a face mask doesn’t protect me, but it will protect someone else, you should,” he told Radio Iowa.
The Republican National Committee announced last month that it chose Jacksonville, Florida, as the site where President Donald Trump will accept the party’s nomination after rescuing Charlotte, North Carolina, due to coronavirus restrictions. Florida is one of the states that has seen a recent coronavirus spike with more than 200,000 new confirmed cases as of July 6.
The move to Florida, a crucial state on the battlefield, comes after the committee disagreed with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, who was reluctant to ease COVID-19 restrictions. The convention is scheduled for the week of August 24; Trump plans to accept the Republican presidential nomination at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. The committee said it would have safety precautions, such as temperature controls, social distancing, and disinfection stations.
Former Vice President Joe Biden will accept the Democratic presidential nomination at a near-virtual convention in Milwaukee in August, the Democratic National Committee said late last month. Delegates were told to stay home due to health problems.
