Senator Ron Johnson Tests Positive

[essentialsaltes]

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has tested positive for coronavirus after being exposed to someone with the virus earlier this week, according to his spokesman, making him the third GOP senator to test positive in 24 hours and threatening the quick confirmation prospects of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sit on the Judiciary Committee, tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday -- just days after attending a White House event where President Donald Trump nominated Barrett. Multiple attendees of that event, including Trump, have tested positive in the week since the ceremony, which featured many people not wearing masks and not observing social distancing protocols.

Johnson did not attend the Barrett nomination ceremony — where several people appeared to have been exposed to the virus — because he was quarantining from a prior exposure, during which he twice tested negative for the virus, according to the spokesman.

Unlike Democratic senators, Senate Republicans meet three times a week for lunch. And while they sit in a large room, they remove their masks to eat and to speak. Johnson, Lee and Tillis all attended Senate GOP lunches this week.

 

[essentialsaltes]

The Wall Street Journal reports that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell plans to cancel votes for next two weeks. Three Republican senators - Mike Lee, Thom Tillis and Ron Johnson – have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last few days. However, McConnell still plans to hold hearings for the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court starting on 12 October.

 

[Nithavela]

It sort of looks like the red party destroyed itself.

I'm impressed. I always thought only the blue party were able to do that.

 

[essentialsaltes]

April 2020

McConnell and other members of GOP leadership have indicated that they remain opposed to remote voting. The Senate is currently in the middle of a five-week break sparked by the coronavirus, but before members left, the GOP leader shot down a question about allowing for senators to vote from outside the Capitol.

“We’ll not be doing that. There are a number of different ways to avoid getting too many people together,” McConnell told reporters.

It's a good thing McConnell would never hypocritically change the rules in order to confirm a SCOTUS nominee.

 

[Bobber]

It sort of looks like the red party destroyed itself.

I'm impressed. I always thought only the blue party were able to do that.

Maybe we need to stay tuned?

 

[Nithavela]

Maybe we need to stay tuned?

I wouldn't want to miss a minute of the US government descending into plague-fuled chaos.

 

[Bobber]

I wouldn't want to miss a minute of the US government descending into plague-fuled chaos.

In saying maybe the Dems will run into problems I'm not saying it would have to be plague related. Maybe just others thing where voters turn against them. We'll see.