First Amy Coney Barrett Hearing Is a Display of GOP Senators' COVID-19 Hubris
Republican senators have alarmed some who have concerns of spreading COVID-19 during the first day of Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett. As a new wave of COVID-19 infections rises across the country, Democrats are trying to mandate masks and establish testing and contact tracing systems while their GOP colleagues are resistant to basic precautions.
Senator Lindsay Graham, the Republican chair of the committee, refused to be tested for COVID-19 before a Friday debate with his Democratic challenger, Jaime Harrison. He was tested the week before last, according to an AP report. Harrison had threatened to pull out of the debate due to concerns about Graham’s exposure to other GOP senators who have tested positive; the event was eventually replaced by two separate interviews.
Graham was present on Monday, chairing the committee and seen conferring closely with masked colleagues, including one Republican senator who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is part of the cluster of COVID-19 cases centered at the White House. According to Politico, Lee appeared in person on Capitol Hill on Monday, wearing a surgical mask when he arrived in the room; he took it off to speak, and then put it back on. On October 2, Lee announced he would isolate for 10 days following a positive COVID-19 test. A letter from Congress’s attending physician said Lee has meet the CDC guidelines for ending his isolation without a follow-up COVID-19 test.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/amy-coney-barrett-hearing-gop-republican-senators-covid-19
