Longest Serving GOP Senator Tests Positive for Coronavirus
Washington – Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the longest-serving Republican senator and third in the line of presidential succession, said he has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Grassley, 87, had announced Tuesday that he was quarantining after being exposed to the virus and was waiting for test results. On Tuesday evening, he tweeted that he had tested positive.
Grassley said he looks forward to “resuming my normal schedule soon.” The Iowa Republican, who was in the Senate and voting Monday, did not say how he had been exposed. His office said he was not experiencing symptoms and was isolating in his Virginia home.
The announcement from one of the Senate’s most prominent members – and one of its oldest – underscored concerns across the Capitol about the safety of lawmakers, staff and other workers in the sprawling complex as cases have spiked across the country and members have traveled back and forth from their states. At least three members of the House have tested positive in the last week, and several more are quarantining.
The increase in cases also threatens the progress of legislation and other work as the Republican Senate, in particular, tries to wrap up business in the remaining weeks of President Donald Trump’s term. Grassley’s absence on Tuesday helped Democrats block the nomination of Judy Shelton, Trump’s controversial pick for the Federal Reserve. Florida Sen. Rick Scott was also absent to quarantine after an exposure.
Grassley is the president pro tempore of the Senate, meaning he presides over the chamber in the absence of Vice President Mike Pence and is third in line for the presidency, behind Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The president pro tempore is the senator in the majority party who has served the longest, and Grassley has been a senator for 40 years.
As pro tempore, Grassley opens the Senate each day. He did so on Monday, leading the Pledge of Allegiance alongside others on the floor and then giving remarks without wearing a mask. He also joined other senators on the floor later Monday evening for a procedural vote on a federal judge, that time wearing a mask but speaking to several senators at close distance.
In his remarks, Grassley said it was “more important than ever to stop the surge” of the virus around the country and the world.
“This virus is hitting rural and urban areas alike,” Grassley said. “No community is immune. I ask every Iowan to continue to do their part to keep their family and neighbors safe.”
Although he was not wearing a mask while he spoke, Grassley encouraged Americans to “wash your hands, limit your activity outside your household, social distance, wear a mask.”
Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, another member of GOP leadership, said Grassley “has been great about wearing his mask, and I think great about taking care of himself, so I think he’s done everything he can.”
A spokesperson for McConnell did not return a request for comment on whether he would encourage testing for senators who may have come into contact with Grassley. McConnell has maintained that regular testing is not needed in the Senate.
By missing votes Tuesday, Grassley broke a 27-year streak of not missing a single Senate vote. According to his office, the last time he missed a vote was in 1993, when he was in Iowa assisting with relief efforts after severe flooding. He had voted 8,927 times without skipping a vote.
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