by Burgess Everett & Marianne Levine
Coronavirus cases are still rising in the District of Columbia, where more than 200 people have died of the disease. The House decided it was too dangerous to return to the Capitol.
But Mitch McConnell’s Senate is coming back anyway.
The Senate majority leader is gambling that 100 senators can safely meet on the Senate floor and throughout the Capitol complex. Many of them will travel across the country for the Senate’s reopening, risking exposure on airplanes and in airports.
And 49 senators are aged 65 or older and at greater risk of the deadly disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Plus, the senators’ return will bring back hundreds of staffers and Capitol employees.
McConnell is signaling he will keep advancing judicial and executive branch nominations next week while he assesses future coronavirus legislation with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Senate Democrats say it isn’t worth coming back for that.
“What a dangerous and ill-conceived idea,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who is discussing with his wife and staff whether to return next week. “I have some colleagues that are seriously considering not returning because there’s nothing on the agenda yet that requires us to be there.”
“If we’re doing oversight work or we’re passing a relief bill, then you can credibly make the case we are essential employees,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “But there’s no reason to bring the Senate back to make conservative radio hosts happy. That’s a dereliction of duty.”
Republicans counter that the Senate needs to be in session and policy priorities can’t wait.
“Our job is to get nominations across the finish line, and I’ve put so much time and effort into health care reform and climate,” said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). “I almost feel like that wanes every day you’re not there.”
The schism reflects the culture war playing out across the country as protesters press governors in a series of states to lift restrictions intended to slow the outbreak. The GOP-controlled Senate also wants to show that it's on the job while the Democratic House stays away.
As of late Wednesday, no guidance was distributed to senators on how to stay safe in the Capitol, according to lawmakers in both parties. Senators hope the Office of the Attending Physician delivers information by Friday, according to multiple sources. Amid that uncertainty, several Democrats are pressing McConnell on how to protect front-line Capitol workers. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the oldest senator at 86, is even asking McConnell to reconsider.
Despite the anxiety, McConnell maintains that the Senate can still function safely.
"We can man the Senate in a way that's consistent with good practices, proper spacing, masks where appropriate,” he said Wednesday on Fox News. “We believe we can conduct the people's business, and we intend to."
Republicans are planning to still have in-person party lunches next week. Democrats will do all of their caucus business by conference call for now, senators said, another sharp break between the two parties’ approach to the disease.
McConnell has repeatedly vowed the pandemic will not deter him from confirming more judges. The Senate Judiciary Committee is planning a confirmation hearing next week for Justin Walker, one of his protégés, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is also preparing a hearing on the nomination of Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) to be director of national intelligence, and several other committees are considering hearings. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is planning to limit hearing attendance to senators, witnesses and a small group of staffers.
Unlike the House, the Senate must consider nominations that take up valuable floor time. The GOP also risks losing control of the chamber this year, and with it the ability to confirm conservative judges.
Still, Republicans say there will be continuing discussions about the coronavirus response when back in D.C.
Some GOP senators have raised questions about returning to Washington, but more quietly than Democrats. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) pressed McConnell for guidance in a GOP conference call on Tuesday.
Braun said he had hoped to implement remote voting temporarily and acknowledged “there’s a risk” in coming back. But he hopes everyone learned their lesson after Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) coronavirus diagnosis in March.
“We were in peril the way we were,” Braun said. “Now more than ever, we’re all aware of what could happen if you get a little bit careless.”
The absence of a coronavirus-specific agenda coupled with the considerable health risks dominated a Democratic Caucus call on Tuesday. Democratic Sens.
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania have also privately expressed concerns about the matter, according to multiple sources.
The only floor vote scheduled is on Monday to confirm the inspector general for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
There’s also something of a grudge match playing out with the House. McConnell says the Senate won’t be on the “sidelines” as the pandemic plays out.
“Republican senators believe it’s our duty and responsibility to return to Washington,” said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 GOP leader. “We will work with guidelines from the Capitol physician to protect the health of the public and the members. Regardless of Speaker Pelosi’s decision to keep the House at home, the Senate has work to do.”
McConnell says the Senate must meet in person to discuss any future coronavirus-related legislation, and some Republicans griped publicly about a $484 billion bill approved this month without roll call votes. The full Senate can more easily pass coronavirus bills over an individual senator’s objections, yet Republicans want to go slow on the next big relief package.
Senate Democrats say they are ready to get back to work to combat the coronavirus but accuse McConnell of endangering lives by offering no game plan for how the Senate will function. Precautions like holding votes open for an extended amount of time, they say, are not enough.
“Sen. McConnell prides himself in controlling everything in the United States Senate at this point, the floor, when we’re in, when we’re out. And so to some extent it needs to be … on him,” said Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who acknowledged the personal risk he and others will take next week.
“We’re supposed to come back Monday, which will be my 66th birthday,” Jones added. “Of course it’s troubling.”
Senators and their aides are also questioning the decision to bring the Senate back to Washington right as the city is projected to soon hit its peak. The House reversed course this week and delayed its return, after consulting with the Capitol’s attending physician.
In separate letters sent Wednesday, Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Sherrod Brown of Ohio pressed McConnell on the safety of the Senate’s workforce. Van Hollen described it as an “obligation” for McConnell, while Brown warned that “failure to protect all workers” could lead to the virus spreading.
McConnell’s office declined Wednesday to offer more guidance for how the Capitol will operate, referring instead to his appearance on Fox News. He said the Senate will operate with spacing, masks and appropriate social distancing.
He also suggested there is a larger point to make by returning.
“We feel like if people on the front lines are willing to work during the pandemic, we should be, as well,” McConnell said. “And so the Senate will come back.”
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) responded that she still doesn’t understand exactly how that’s going to work.
“It isn’t enough just to say: ‘Oh, we’ll sanitize it’,” Murray said. “Who’s ‘we’ sanitizing it? Is Mitch McConnell going to do that, and the bathrooms and the chairs? I don’t think so.”
Quint Forgey contributed to this report.
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