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| Rand Paul’s Positive Coronavirus Test Sets the (Still Meeting) Senate on Edge | Rand Paul’s Positive Coronavirus Test Sets the (Still Meeting) Senate on Edge |
| (8 days later) | |
| WASHINGTON — In another workplace, in another town, the news that a colleague who, days and even hours before testing positive for the novel coronavirus, had been dining and meeting and working out alongside his co-workers might have spurred some drastic measures. | WASHINGTON — In another workplace, in another town, the news that a colleague who, days and even hours before testing positive for the novel coronavirus, had been dining and meeting and working out alongside his co-workers might have spurred some drastic measures. |
| Not so in Congress. | Not so in Congress. |
| Senator Rand Paul’s announcement on Sunday that he had tested positive for the virus did little to alter the course of business on Monday in the Senate, where lawmakers continued to meet, spar and vote as leaders and top administration officials worked frantically to negotiate the largest economic stimulus measure in modern history. | Senator Rand Paul’s announcement on Sunday that he had tested positive for the virus did little to alter the course of business on Monday in the Senate, where lawmakers continued to meet, spar and vote as leaders and top administration officials worked frantically to negotiate the largest economic stimulus measure in modern history. |
| As states, cities and employers around the country direct Americans to stay at home and shelter in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Senate — nearly half of whose members are 65 and older — continues to defy the recommendations of public health experts. Mr. Paul’s diagnosis, which prompted two other Republican senators to quarantine themselves, only underscored the danger of the situation. | As states, cities and employers around the country direct Americans to stay at home and shelter in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Senate — nearly half of whose members are 65 and older — continues to defy the recommendations of public health experts. Mr. Paul’s diagnosis, which prompted two other Republican senators to quarantine themselves, only underscored the danger of the situation. |
| “It is naïve for us to believe that this is the end of the challenge to our membership,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat, imploring his colleagues to shutter the Senate and institute remote voting, an idea that has been resisted by congressional leaders in both parties. “We should not be physically present on this floor at this moment — we know better.” | “It is naïve for us to believe that this is the end of the challenge to our membership,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat, imploring his colleagues to shutter the Senate and institute remote voting, an idea that has been resisted by congressional leaders in both parties. “We should not be physically present on this floor at this moment — we know better.” |
| Below the surface, Mr. Paul’s diagnosis prompted fear and anger inside the Capitol. Aides in the Kentucky Republican’s Washington office were anxious and outraged by the senator’s decision to continue working after learning he had potentially been exposed, without telling staff members who could have become infected, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to describe internal discussions. | Below the surface, Mr. Paul’s diagnosis prompted fear and anger inside the Capitol. Aides in the Kentucky Republican’s Washington office were anxious and outraged by the senator’s decision to continue working after learning he had potentially been exposed, without telling staff members who could have become infected, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to describe internal discussions. |
| Two Republican senators who had dined with Mr. Paul left the Capitol and quarantined themselves as a precaution. And those left in the building on Monday were clearly uneasy as their impassioned pleas for action became freighted with a certain grim subtext. | Two Republican senators who had dined with Mr. Paul left the Capitol and quarantined themselves as a precaution. And those left in the building on Monday were clearly uneasy as their impassioned pleas for action became freighted with a certain grim subtext. |
| “We don’t have another day! We don’t have another hour,” said an outraged Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, imploring Democrats to allow a relief package that was still under negotiation to move forward quickly. “We don’t have another minute to delay acting.” | “We don’t have another day! We don’t have another hour,” said an outraged Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, imploring Democrats to allow a relief package that was still under negotiation to move forward quickly. “We don’t have another minute to delay acting.” |
| Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, announced that her husband, John Bessler, had tested positive for the virus and was hospitalized with pneumonia in Virginia, receiving oxygen to help him breathe. Ms. Klobuchar said she would not enter quarantine or get tested because she had not been in the same place with her husband for two weeks and was outside the 14-day threshold for getting sick. | Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, announced that her husband, John Bessler, had tested positive for the virus and was hospitalized with pneumonia in Virginia, receiving oxygen to help him breathe. Ms. Klobuchar said she would not enter quarantine or get tested because she had not been in the same place with her husband for two weeks and was outside the 14-day threshold for getting sick. |
| Mr. Paul, 57 and a former practicing eye doctor, was informed two weekends ago that he had attended a fund-raiser in Kentucky with two individuals who later tested positive for the disease, a warning that sent a handful of other prominent elected officials into self-quarantine out of caution. Mr. Paul, whose office said he has shown no symptoms, did not, but he apparently did obtain a test, and his positive result on Sunday made him the first senator to announce that he had contracted the virus. | Mr. Paul, 57 and a former practicing eye doctor, was informed two weekends ago that he had attended a fund-raiser in Kentucky with two individuals who later tested positive for the disease, a warning that sent a handful of other prominent elected officials into self-quarantine out of caution. Mr. Paul, whose office said he has shown no symptoms, did not, but he apparently did obtain a test, and his positive result on Sunday made him the first senator to announce that he had contracted the virus. |
| The news that Mr. Paul had maintained his normal schedule for days after getting tested — dining with his colleagues at conference lunches, voting on the Senate floor and taking a swim in the senators-only pool just hours before he received his results — ricocheted through the Capitol, rattling and angering the network of lawmakers and aides who have worked late hours for days in close quarters, and plan to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. | The news that Mr. Paul had maintained his normal schedule for days after getting tested — dining with his colleagues at conference lunches, voting on the Senate floor and taking a swim in the senators-only pool just hours before he received his results — ricocheted through the Capitol, rattling and angering the network of lawmakers and aides who have worked late hours for days in close quarters, and plan to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. |
| “He is a physician himself; he’s able to do his own risk assessment,” Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, told reporters. “Evidently, he miscalculated.” | “He is a physician himself; he’s able to do his own risk assessment,” Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, told reporters. “Evidently, he miscalculated.” |
| Mr. Paul came under withering criticism from some colleagues — although most expressed their outrage only privately — and on Monday, he sought to defend himself. His account, which said that he got tested last Monday after arriving in Washington from Kentucky, only underscored the likelihood that he had exposed other senators to the illness. | Mr. Paul came under withering criticism from some colleagues — although most expressed their outrage only privately — and on Monday, he sought to defend himself. His account, which said that he got tested last Monday after arriving in Washington from Kentucky, only underscored the likelihood that he had exposed other senators to the illness. |
| “The nature of Covid-19 put me — and us all — in a Catch-22 situation,” Mr. Paul said. “I didn’t fit the criteria for testing or quarantine. I had no symptoms and no specific encounter with a Covid-19 positive person.” | “The nature of Covid-19 put me — and us all — in a Catch-22 situation,” Mr. Paul said. “I didn’t fit the criteria for testing or quarantine. I had no symptoms and no specific encounter with a Covid-19 positive person.” |
| He continued: “For those who want to criticize me for lack of quarantine, realize that if the rules on testing had been followed to a tee, I would never have been tested and would still be walking around the halls of the Capitol. The current guidelines would not have called for me to get tested nor quarantined. It was my extra precaution, out of concern for my damaged lung, that led me to get tested.” | He continued: “For those who want to criticize me for lack of quarantine, realize that if the rules on testing had been followed to a tee, I would never have been tested and would still be walking around the halls of the Capitol. The current guidelines would not have called for me to get tested nor quarantined. It was my extra precaution, out of concern for my damaged lung, that led me to get tested.” |
| Mr. Paul continues to be “asymptomatic,” his statement said. | Mr. Paul continues to be “asymptomatic,” his statement said. |
| The recriminations have spread to Mr. Paul’s own Washington office. | The recriminations have spread to Mr. Paul’s own Washington office. |
| His aides had never been told Mr. Paul might have been exposed to the virus or had been tested for it, according to a person familiar with the situation, and some began to fear that they could have contracted it and spread it to their friends and family before the office began working remotely, days after Mr. Paul attended the fund-raiser. Mr. Paul attended the fund-raiser on a Saturday and arrived in Washington the next Monday evening. His office closed to work remotely three days later. | His aides had never been told Mr. Paul might have been exposed to the virus or had been tested for it, according to a person familiar with the situation, and some began to fear that they could have contracted it and spread it to their friends and family before the office began working remotely, days after Mr. Paul attended the fund-raiser. Mr. Paul attended the fund-raiser on a Saturday and arrived in Washington the next Monday evening. His office closed to work remotely three days later. |
| Updated August 12, 2020 | |
| Senior officials in Mr. Paul’s Washington office told their staffs that none of them were at risk, the person said. But the aides remained livid that they were informed of Mr. Paul’s exposure only minutes before their office publicly announced his positive test results. | Senior officials in Mr. Paul’s Washington office told their staffs that none of them were at risk, the person said. But the aides remained livid that they were informed of Mr. Paul’s exposure only minutes before their office publicly announced his positive test results. |
| Despite the panic prompted by Mr. Paul’s announcement, on Monday, debate on the Senate floor proceeded mostly as usual — albeit in more fiery terms — with lawmakers filing into the chamber to vote and sitting in their desks next to one another. But the specter of the coronavirus weighed heavily over the proceedings. | Despite the panic prompted by Mr. Paul’s announcement, on Monday, debate on the Senate floor proceeded mostly as usual — albeit in more fiery terms — with lawmakers filing into the chamber to vote and sitting in their desks next to one another. But the specter of the coronavirus weighed heavily over the proceedings. |
| As Mr. Durbin concluded a speech with his call for remote voting, Senator Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho, approached him. Both men kept their arms crossed, and Mr. Durbin slowly backed away step by step as they spoke, creating more and more distance between them. | As Mr. Durbin concluded a speech with his call for remote voting, Senator Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho, approached him. Both men kept their arms crossed, and Mr. Durbin slowly backed away step by step as they spoke, creating more and more distance between them. |
| Mr. Paul’s announcement appeared to have won over some converts for the idea of remote voting. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who had previously shrugged off the suggestion, took to Twitter to offer his support for the idea. | Mr. Paul’s announcement appeared to have won over some converts for the idea of remote voting. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who had previously shrugged off the suggestion, took to Twitter to offer his support for the idea. |
| “We should make this change before the Senate leaves town,” Mr. Graham wrote. | “We should make this change before the Senate leaves town,” Mr. Graham wrote. |
| There is no indication that House or Senate leaders are moving toward doing so. A report released Monday night by Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts and the chairman of the House Rules Committee, underscored the hurdles — both technical and legal — such a move would create, and instead recommended using existing practices, like adopting legislation by unanimous consent. | There is no indication that House or Senate leaders are moving toward doing so. A report released Monday night by Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts and the chairman of the House Rules Committee, underscored the hurdles — both technical and legal — such a move would create, and instead recommended using existing practices, like adopting legislation by unanimous consent. |
| For now, senators are maintaining their routine — albeit from a substantial distance, and under considerably more stress. | For now, senators are maintaining their routine — albeit from a substantial distance, and under considerably more stress. |
| “I’d like to suggest to my friends on both sides of the aisle that we first assume the appropriate distance,” Mr. Durbin said on Monday as tempers flared on the Senate floor, “and then secondly, take a deep breath.” | “I’d like to suggest to my friends on both sides of the aisle that we first assume the appropriate distance,” Mr. Durbin said on Monday as tempers flared on the Senate floor, “and then secondly, take a deep breath.” |
| Nicholas Fandos and Emily Cochrane contributed reporting. | Nicholas Fandos and Emily Cochrane contributed reporting. |