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Two Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee tested positive for Covid-19, raising questions about the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Justice Amy Coney Barrett and whether other senators may have been exposed.
Thom Tillis from North Carolina and Mike Lee from Utah say they tested positive for the virus.
They both attended a ceremony for Barrett at the White House on Sept. 25 with President Donald Trump, who tested positive and was later hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Lee, who did not wear a mask at the White House event, said he had “symptoms consistent with longstanding allergies.”
Tillis, who did wear a mask, said she has no symptoms. Both said they will be quarantined for 10 days, ending just before Barrett’s confirmation hearings begin on October 12.
The positive evidence comes as Senate Republicans are pushing to quickly confirm Barrett in the few weeks they have before the Nov. 3 election. There is little room in the schedule set by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who want to put Trump’s third-elected judge in court immediately in case they lose. some of his power in elections.
Democrats immediately took to the announcements calling for a delay in the hearings. “We now have two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who have tested positive for Covid, and there may be more,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted.
“I wish my colleagues the best. It is irresponsible and dangerous to go ahead with an audience, and there is absolutely no good reason to do so.”
Several other members of the Senate judicial panel attended the White House ceremony, including Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn and Idaho Senator Mike Crapo.
Blackburn said the test came back negative after the event and Crapo said he “recently” had a negative test, but an attendee did not specify when it was taken. Representatives for Hawley and Sasse did not respond to questions about whether they had been evaluated. Graham was not in the White House on Saturday, but he sees Trump frequently; He said he had a test taken today after interacting with Lee and it came back negative.
Confirmation hearings for Barrett, who would replace the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, are scheduled to last four days. McConnell showed little interest in delaying hearings at an event in Kentucky today, saying the Senate had been operating amid Covid-19 since May and expected to proceed normally in the next few weeks before the election.
He said he thought remote hearings could work if some senators couldn’t attend. Graham also suggested the possibility of remote hearings, saying in a Twitter post that “virtually any senator who wants to participate will be able to do so.”
However, senators cannot vote virtually, so Republicans would need a full list of committee members to approve the nomination shortly after the hearings and all of their senators in the room for a final confirmation vote, which they hope will occur. the last week of October.
Tillis is in a competitive re-election race against Democrat Cal Cunningham and the two debated this week. On Twitter, Cunningham said he wished Tillis a speedy recovery and said he would also get tested.
Barrett, who was with Trump and many others on Saturday and met with Lee, Tillis and other members of the judicial panel this week, tested negative, the White House said today.
It was confirmed that he had a mild case of Covid-19 earlier this year and has now recovered.
Trump, who has consistently downplayed the virus and often advises against wearing masks, traveled to Walter Reed today after experiencing symptoms like fatigue and fever.
The White House said the visit was a precautionary one and that it would continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow it to fulfill its official duties.
– AP
