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.”
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Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded guilty to reduced charges Friday morning and agreed to cooperate with Robert Mueller's investigation.
With claims that the official Puerto Rico death toll was inflated to make him look bad, the president "just put a bullet in Rick Scott's senate campaign," said Rick Wilson, GOP consultant and author of "Everything Trump Touches Dies." The Floridian Governor had worked hard to gain the support of Puerto Ricans in his state.
Diana Henriques, financial journalist and author, said that a decade after the financial crisis, the country is not even close to prepared for another economic collapse of similar magnitude or whatever could follow.
The actress-turned-activist, and Democratic candidate for New York Governor, said that she isn't worried about trailing incumbent Andrew Cuomo, because polls don't capture the progressive movement that could bring voters to the polls for the primaries this Thursday.
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