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.”
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is launching a new global program called "Generation Equality: Realizing women's rights for an equal future," a partnership between UN Women, the World Economic Forum, the private sector, and Gates Foundation.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney from Utah told Cheddar he would be interested in hearing from John Bolton as the president's impeachment trial defense headed into its final day.
Speaking before Trump's attorneys begin their final day of defense arguments in the impeachment trial Schumer maintained Democrats would not bargain on witnesses.
U.S. officials say President Donald Trump's long-awaited Middle East peace plan calls for the creation of a State of Palestine with its capital in portions of east Jerusalem.
The Republican senator from Texas gave some indication that he was curious about the alleged bombshell manuscript by former national security advisor John Bolton that might further implicate President Trump in his trial.
Trump's lawyers on Monday brushed past the extraordinary allegations in the draft of a new book by his former national security adviser as the legal team made historical and legal arguments for acquittal.
GOP and Dem senators offered different reactions to a bombshell New York Times report that ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton wrote in a manuscript that President Trump told him that he froze aid to Ukraine in exchange for a Biden investigation.