Sen. Chuck Grassley is awaiting a COVID-19 test result and will quarantine after he learned he was exposed to the coronavirus.
“I will follow my doctors’ orders and immediately quarantine as I await my test results,” Grassley said in a statement on Tuesday. “I’m feeling well and not currently experiencing any symptoms, but it’s important we all follow public health guidelines to keep each other healthy.”
Grassley, 87, said he will continue working from home while he quarantines.
The Iowa Republican’s self-quarantine shortly follows an announcement by his colleague, Sen. Rick Scott, who is also staying at home after learning he was exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus.
If Grassley were to miss Tuesday’s votes to nominate federal judges, it would be the first time in almost 30 years the senator has been absent. Grassley has not missed a vote since 1993, when he was absent from a vote due to flooding in his state.
The coronavirus has infected more than 11 million people in the country and has killed nearly 250,000.
