Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged lawmakers and the public to remain calm amid the spread of the deadly coronavirus, arguing the risk of transmission is low and that the United States is prepared to treat it.
“This is not a time for fear,” McConnell said in a floor speech after arriving at the Capitol on Monday. “It is a time to continue calmly scaling up the serious and smart preparations that have already been underway so the United States can continue working to blunt, slow, and mitigate the spread within our borders.”
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The Kentucky Republican credited President Trump with early action to stop the threat by restricting travel in January. He also praised Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, on his decision to self-quarantine after discovering he was in contact with an infected individual at the Conservative Political Action Conference nearly two weeks ago.
“Sen. Cruz decided to work at home this week out of an abundance of caution,” McConnell said. “We will miss him around the Capitol this week, but I thank him for taking the initiative.”
Cruz’s press office issued a statement late Monday, declaring the senator “feels great, has not exhibited any symptoms of the coronavirus in the last 11 days, and is not currently experiencing any symptoms.”
McConnell’s statement comes after a handful of additional lawmakers announced they would not return to Washington, D.C., this week due to contact with people infected with the coronavirus.
The Capitol remains open, with votes planned in both the House and Senate beginning late Monday afternoon and continuing this week. House and Senate leaders have begun discussions about what to do if the Capitol must close. Lawmakers cannot vote remotely in either the House or the Senate.
McConnell called for “calm and confidence” and said the country was equipped with “enormous expertise and tremendous capabilities,” along with $8.3 billion appropriated by Congress to combat the virus.
Senate Democrats have been critical of Trump’s handling of the virus threat. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Trump to initiate several policies in response, including paid sick leave and enhanced unemployment insurance. The New York Democrat also criticized Trump for playing golf over the weekend, downplaying the threat of the virus, and for a delay in producing coronavirus test kits.
“The federal government’s initial response to the coronavirus was slipshod at best. It has greatly hurt the country. And it falls at the feet of the president,” Schumer said. “The buck stops with him.”
