President Trump’s positive coronavirus diagnosis revamped calls on Capitol Hill for a widespread testing program Friday.
The new requests come months after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed offers from Mr. Trump’s administration for COVID-19 testing for lawmakers to keep them in Washington and able to do their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Trump’s positive COVID-19 test has sent concern rippling through the halls of the Capitol, where lawmakers and officials are rapidly trying to determine who might have been exposed.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he is speaking with Ms. Pelosi about potentially implementing a plan when members return from break.
“Depending on what tests we have, if we’re going to do tests we need to do reliable tests,” said Mr. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat. “One of the problems is that they were doing quick tests at the White House. Probably not as reliable. I think they changed, but I’m not sure.”
Calls for tests are coming from across the political spectrum, from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, to Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.
Progressive superstar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who commutes from her district in New York, noted that the constant travel members of Congress puts Capitol Hill in a position to be a potential “superspreader event.”
“I really do think that there’s a strong possibility that every time we convene in a session, it could, it has the potential to be a superspreader event,” she told reporters. “We’re talking about 425 members of Congress coming from all over the country flying on planes coming here. Many carriers of the disease are asymptomatic and so unless we are getting frequently tested, which there currently is no mandate for, there’s always the possibility that somebody may have contracted it and be asymptomatic.”
Mrs. Pelosi, who met with Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin earlier this week, said she was tested Friday “out of an abundance of caution” but hasn’t received her results yet. Mr. Mnuchin tested negative Friday, a Treasury Department spokesperson said.
Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, was with Mr. Trump on Air Force One earlier this week and said on Fox News he planned on getting tested Friday. He participated in a hearing remotely.
Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican, announced the COVID-19 test he took came back Friday as positive. He is going into isolation for 10 days.
The Senate is out of session Friday after more than 30 senators met with Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett ahead of her confirmation hearings, which are set to begin Oct. 12. Senate Democrats have called to delay the hearing due to the potential outbreak with Mr. Lee testing positive since he is a member of the Judiciary Committee.
The House is in recess after wrapping up business earlier Friday. They’ve been conducting votes via a series of small groups and remote proxy voting.
Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, and Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, rejected an offer from the White House for rapid tests on Capitol Hill in the spring to save resources for those on the front lines.
Part of the concern from leadership is that there has to be enough tests not only for lawmakers, but their staffers and everyone else that works in the Capitol including the press, custodians and Capitol police.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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