Coronavirus has hit Capitol Hill, as the first members of Congress have tested positive for the virus.
Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah) announced diagnoses late Wednesday. Diaz-Balart’s office said he had developed symptoms Saturday evening and was notified Wednesday of a positive test. Both had voted on the House floor as recently as Saturday morning, to pass the coronavirus relief bill.
Rep. Ben McAdams, D-Utah (Left), Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. (Right)
At least five other members of Congress are quarantining because they had contact with the lawmakers, including Rep. Steve Scalise, the second-highest ranking Republican in the House.
Some lawmakers had been pushing for ways to vote remotely, particularly since congressional members are disproportionately in higher-risk categories for coronavirus complications. Forty-eight senators are over the age of 65, the age at which some states have recommended individuals to stay inside their homes.
Senator Dick Durban (D-Ill.) has said “it’s time for the Senate to wake up to the 21st century and make sure we’re using technology that allows us to communicate with each other without any danger or risk to public health.”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers on Tuesday during his confirmation hearing that it is time to wind down the central bank's aggressive pandemic-era policies.
President Biden on Tuesday called on the Senate to change its rules to allow the passage of voting rights legislation in his most pointed remarks yet on the issue.
U.S. employers added a modest 199,000 jobs last month while the unemployment rate fell sharply, at a time when businesses are struggling to fill jobs with many Americans remaining reluctant to return to the workforce.
A top Tennessee House Republican lawmaker has apologized for losing his temper and being ejected from watching a high school basketball game after getting into a confrontation with a referee.
President Joe Biden addressed the nation Thursday from the U.S. Capitol Building, as it marks one year since rioters breached the building in a deadly attack.
Federal Reserve policymakers at a meeting last month said the U.S. job market was nearly at levels healthy enough that the central bank's low-interest rate policies were no longer needed.
The U.S. and the Iraqi military say a Katyusha rocket has struck an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. troops at Baghdad’s international airport, and in Syria, eight rounds of indirect fire hit a base where members of the U.S.-led coalition are deployed.
