Republicans in the Senate are panicking are multiple White House officials tested positive for COVID-19. Senate Republicans are begging Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to send the Senate home for at least a week due to fears that the outbreak could derail their plans to confirm Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the election.
The Washington Post’s Robert Costa reports that Republicans are asking McConnell to “take the Senate out of session next week” after multiple Republicans, including President Donald Trump and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) tested positive for the novel coronavirus in just the last day.
A Senate GOP aide, on background, tells the Post that some Rs are now discussing asking Leader McConnell to "take the Senate out of session next week" before the ACB hearings start in mid-October.
"If some in the Republican caucus get sick, we are screwed," the aide says.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) October 2, 2020
Republicans want to make sure that GOP officials are clear of the virus by mid-October in order to vote for the next Supreme Court Justice.
“If some in the Republican caucus get sick, we are screwed,” one GOP Senate aide tells Costa.