Sen. Ron Johnson, the third known senator to contract COVID-19 in recent days, said he will still try to vote for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
The Wisconsin Republican said he has already made it clear with Senate leadership that he wants to be able to vote on Barrett’s confirmation and thinks that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is working hard for there to be a vote in the coming weeks.
“If we have to go in and vote, I’ve already told leadership I’ll go in a moon suit,” Johnson told KHOW on Monday. “We think this is pretty important, I think people can be very confident that Mitch McConnell is dedicated to holding this vote.”
Johnson, 65, announced that he tested positive for the contagion on Saturday morning. Two other Republican senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have tested positive for COVID-19 so far. Both Lee and Tillis are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and attended the White House event Oct. 26 where Barrett’s nomination was formally announced by President Trump.
Trump has since tested positive for COVID-19 and has been treated at Walter Reed Medical Center since Friday when he was taken from the White House to the hospital via helicopter.
“Though he may not be entirely out of the woods yet, the team and I agree that all our evaluations, and most importantly his clinical status, support the president’s safe return home where he’ll be surrounded by world-class medical care 24/7,” said White House physician Dr. Sean Conley during a Monday news conference.
“I would certainly try to find a way,” Johnson said when asked if he would try to still vote even if he tested positive the day before, “making sure that everybody is safe.”
“Where there is a will, there is a way. We can do these things,” the Republican added.
