Dem Lawmaker Announced Positive COVID Test 7 Days Ago, Traveled to Capitol for Speaker Vote Anyway
On a day when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi needed every vote she could get to hold on to her post, testing positive for the coronavirus was no bar to being present in the House chamber.
On Sunday, Pelosi was re-elected speaker to end a bit of Capitol Hill drama shaped by the fact that the Democrats hold a narrow majority in the new Congress — so narrow that, in theory, the right combination of Democratic absences and Republican members present could have allowed Republicans to elect a speaker, despite their minority position.
Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, who announced on Dec. 28 that she had tested positive for the virus, was slated to appear in the House chamber, according to Fox News.
I tested positive for COVID-19. I am following guidance from my doctor and am isolating from others. I am thankful to be feeling well. And I do not foresee this disrupting my work for Wisconsin’s Fourth.
— Rep. Gwen Moore (@RepGwenMoore) December 28, 2020
Moore insisted that traveling to Washington less than six days after announcing she had tested positive was just fine, The Hill reported.
The representative’s office said she “has worked with doctors and is safe to travel.”
Moore admitted she did not get a negative COVID-19 test, but said the Capitol’s attending physician, Brian Monahan, approved her traveling to Washington and attending the session.
Thank you all for the well wishes. I am feeling good! My quarantine is over and I am medically cleared to travel and work on behalf of Wisconsin’s Fourth Congressional District.
— Rep. Gwen Moore (@RepGwenMoore) January 3, 2021
Monahan also reportedly provided “special arrangements” for three additional lawmakers still in their quarantine windows to appear in the chamber’s visitors’ gallery. Politico’s Heather Caygle and Melanie Zanona reported that while the three members all tested negative for COVID-19, they had all been exposed to the virus and had not yet completed their quarantine time.
The three representatives were permitted to cast their votes in person, with the provision that they remain behind a plexiglass enclosure. According to The Hill, however, the enclosure did not have a top and was not completely sealed.
Republicans criticized Pelosi for allowing Moore to appear in the chamber.
The coronavirus won’t stop Nancy Pelosi’s quest for power.
Democrat Rep. Gwen Moore announced a positive coronavirus test 6 days ago.
She hasn’t been in DC since May & has been voting by proxy.
But because Pelosi wants power, despite being COVID +, Moore is headed back to DC. https://t.co/iHUpfWVnba
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 3, 2021
Looks like @SpeakerPelosi‘s proxy voting and remote hearing measures are only essential when her leadership position isn’t on the line. https://t.co/JRRFkIRjBL
— Rep. Bruce Westerman (@RepWesterman) January 3, 2021
“I mean, we have two members who have COVID and we kept them home. I couldn’t imagine that [Pelosi] would bring somebody in here that could cause people problems,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said.
However, Zanona noted the extent to which Democrats were determined to have as many members present as possible.
The arrangements include entering through a special entrance that has been closed off to the public and then having members in Plexiglass in the gallery.
We’re told there are 3 members who will be using these arrangements — 2 Dems, 1 Republican.
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) January 3, 2021
ALSO, this shows how tenuous Pelosi’s speaker vote is.
She has privately acknowledged that coronavirus is her biggest opponent.
And her office has been working hard to ensure virtually very Dem is physically present today…. Case in point: they’re only expecting 1 Dem absence.
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) January 3, 2021
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer requires a 14-day quarantine for all individuals who test positive, although it still suggests that is the safest course of action. According to Fox, the CDC now says that a quarantine can end after 10 days without a test if the individual has no symptoms, and after seven days if the individual exhibits no symptoms and gets a negative test result.
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