Well-Being Prevention & Cures

McCarthy urges Pelosi to implement rapid coronavirus testing for Congress

by Joseph Guzman | July 30, 2020 | Jul. 30, 2020

getty: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

Story at a glance

  • House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said there’s an immediate need for testing on Capitol Hill.
  • Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in May rejected the Trump administration’s offer to provide rapid COVID-19 tests for lawmakers and staffers.
  • McCarthy referenced the nine members of Congress who have tested positive for COVID-19.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Thursday pressed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to institute mandatory rapid coronavirus testing for House members, just one day after it was revealed Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas.) tested positive for COVID-19. 

“The need for testing throughout Capitol Hill campus remains immediate,” McCarthy said in a letter to Pelosi. “Unfortunately, our sensible suggestions were ignored and Congress is still operating without a comprehensive plan for a safe work environment.” 

“By failing to adequately protect the people who work in this institution, your majority has created unnecessary risk and confusion for members, staff, press, and all employees of the house,” he said. 

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Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in May rejected the Trump administration’s offer to provide rapid COVID-19 tests for lawmakers and staffers. McCarthy’s letter reportedly made no mention of McConnell. 

McCarthy noted that nine members of Congress from both parties have contracted COVID-19. 

Pelosi on Wednesday announced masks will be mandatory on the House floor following the news of Gohmert’s positive test results. 

“Members and staff will be required to wear masks at all times in the hall of the House except that members may remove their masks, temporarily, when recognized,” Pelosi said from the House floor. 

The House speaker said lawmakers and staff who don’t adhere to the mandate will not be permitted to enter the House chamber and risk being removed by the Sergeant at Arms if they fail to comply. 

Gohmert is among a group of House Republicans that have been seen not wearing masks while at the Capitol. But during an interview with KETK-TV, a Fox News affiliate, Gohmert said he had been wearing a mask more frequently in the last week or so. 

He went on to question whether his decision to wear a mask could have led to his positive test. 

“But I can’t help but wonder if my keeping a mask on and keeping it in place, that if I might have put some germs or some of the virus onto the mask and breathed it in — I don’t know,” he said. 

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