Best wishes, cascading concerns
Trump news sparks Capitol Hill clamor
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID -19 overnight Thursday, a diagnosis that sparked concerns of a wider outbreak at the U.S. Capitol that could impact the president’s campaign and his recent Supreme Court nomination.
New York politicians sent their wishes for a quick recovery for Trump and his wife, who were both reported to have “mild symptoms.”
On Capitol Hill, the diagnosis set off calls for more reg
ular testing of lawmakers and staff from Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D -N.Y. Some senators reacted with concern that White House officials and even Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who had contact with Trump in the last week and has been meeting with members of Congress, could have spread the virus to others.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-utah, revealed he tested positive for the virus Friday after a mask-less meeting with Coney Barrett this week. Coney Barrett tested negative, a White House spokesman said Friday.
“It is premature for Chairman [Sen. Lindsey] Graham [R- S.C.] to commit to a hearing schedule when we do not know the full extent of potential exposure stemming from the president’s infection and before the White House puts in place a contact-tracing plan to prevent further spread of the disease,” Schumer said Friday. “The unfortunate news about the infection of our colleague Sen. Mike Lee makes even more clear that health and safe
ty must guide the schedule for all Senate activities, including hearings. In addition, there is bipartisan agreement that a virtual confirmation hearing for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench is not an acceptable substitute.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., said Friday the confirmation process slated to start Oct. 12 will go forward.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo
said he expressed his best wishes to the president and first lady.
“I hope the symptoms they get are mild,” Cuomo said. “I think it drives home to everyone: take this seriously. You have the president of the United States, who has an entire apparatus around him testing and taking precautions and safeguarding. I’ve gone to the White House a few times. There is a whole ordeal
that you go through.”
“You go for a screening. You get tested. You’re held in an area until the test comes back,” he added. “Even the president of the United States with all that operational capacity around him, you can still get infected. And I think it just reaffirms for everyone: be careful, be careful, be careful.”
Shock, sympathy, criticism: World reacts to Trump infection
Trump, who has downplayed the threat of the virus that has been associated with the deaths of more than 200,000 people in the United States, announced he and his wife
tested positive in a tweet shortly before 1 a.m. Friday. A top aide to Trump, Hope Hicks, also tested positive.
Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said of the president and first lady: “They remain in good spirits. The president does have mild symptoms and as we look to try to make sure that no only his health and safety and welfare is good, we continue to look at that for all of the American people.”
Although a close Trump supporter, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R- Schuylerville, said she’s had no in-person contact with Trump in the last 14 days.
“I send my thoughts and best wishes to the president, first lady, and the entire White House team for a speedy recovery,” she said.
On Friday, Schumer demanded complete contact tracing and testing for White House officials, Coney Barrett and senators who met with them this week. Positive test results could impact an already tight timeline for Coney Barrett’s confirmation, which Republicans are pressing to complete before the election.
Although the White House conducts regular testing of staff and officials, the U.S. Capitol does not mandate regular testing of members and their staffs. Schumer gets tested regularly, his spokeswoman said.
“The infection of the
president, first lady and a close aide require that the White House immediately conduct a contact tracing regime that follows CDC guidelines, as well as thorough testing and isolation for those who were exposed to infection risk,” Schumer said.
Miriam Cash, a spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D -N.Y., said the senator “joins all Americans in wishing the president and first lady a full and speedy recovery. Today is further evidence of how seriously we should all be taking COVID -19 and preventing its spread. Sen. Gillibrand supports a mask mandate on Capitol grounds and testing for members of Congress, their staff, and all employees who work in the Capitol complex.”
U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D -Amsterdam, said in an interview Friday decisions his own decision to get tested and have his staff tested will be left to the House physician and public health experts, adding, “whatever they advise should guide us with the next steps.”
He said his heart goes out to everyone who has been impacted by COVID -19, including the president and first lady.
“These are troubling times and this is troubling news,” Tonko said. “This virus knows no boundaries. It is still very much present amongst us. It tells me we are in the middle of the forest, not at the edge of the woods.”
U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D -Rhinebeck, also wished the president and first lady a fast and full recovery.
“No one is immune from this pandemic and we must be diligent in protecting and caring for ourselves and those around us,” Delgado said on Twitter.
Meadows said Friday several top White House officials, including himself, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications, Dan Scavino, have tested negative for the virus.