Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated that he is not comfortable with how the White House is taking precautions during the coronavirus pandemic.
During a Thursday press conference in Kentucky, McConnell acknowledged that he hasn’t been to the White House since Aug. 6 and said its lackadaisical attitude toward the coronavirus is the reason he’s staying away.
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“I haven’t actually been to the White House since August the 6th,” he said. “My impression was that their approach to how to handle this is different from mine and what I suggested that we do in the Senate, which is to wear a mask and practice social distancing.”
McConnell made similar comments earlier this week in an interview with Fox News.
“I do think there have been risky behaviors in other areas, but not in the Senate,” McConnell said. “And this nomination is now in the Senate. We know how to handle this. We’ve been dealing with this since May, and we’ll handle it successfully.”
The Senate and the White House have approached the pandemic differently. The Senate has utilized social distancing guidelines, and many members of Congress wear masks around the Capitol. Congress does not have rapid testing, unlike at the White House, where it is often relied upon for events in lieu of social distancing and masks.
The admission from the Kentucky Republican comes as the White House is trying to contain a coronavirus outbreak that led to a three-day hospitalization for President Trump and to several other cases among people in the president’s orbit.
First lady Melania Trump and White House campaign adviser Hope Hicks tested positive for the virus, as did members of the White House press corps. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the president’s campaign manager Bill Stepien have also tested positive. Both of them helped prepare the president for last Tuesday’s presidential debate.
Many of the people who have gotten sick, including two of McConnell’s colleagues, were at Trump’s nominating ceremony of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court late last month.
Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Mike Lee of Arizona and Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to Trump, all who attended the event, have announced positive COVID-19 tests.
“Well, there’s no question that some of the infections occurred elsewhere and not” at the Barrett nomination ceremony, McConnell said during the Fox News interview.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment regarding McConnell’s comments.
