As President Donald Trump continues to falsely claim that the U.S. has the most effective Covid-19 screening system in the world, the Capitol physician told top Republican staffers Thursday that he lacks sufficient equipment to quickly test all 100 senators for the deadly virus as Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushes ahead with a plan to reconvene the chamber next week.
"If there's no capacity to test 100 senators in a day, what hope do the rest of us have?"
"We don't have the capability to do a large-scale test," Dr. Brian Monahan said in a conference call with GOP officials, according to Axios.
"My test result can take between two and seven business days to resolve," said Monahan, who noted that he doesn't have access to the rapid tests used by the White House to test the president, vice president, and other executive branch officials.
Monahan told Republican officials that he will only be able to test senators and staffers who are showing symptoms.
Trump, today: “I don’t think anybody’s done a better job with testing.” We literally cannot even test 100 people we need to keep the government running. https://t.co/kIHB5FFs4e — Nick Gourevitch (@nickgourevitch) May 1, 2020 So, we have all the great, perfect tests we need, millions of them, no one is complaining and if they do they're lying... But we can't do 100 tests of US senators all at once.
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The conference call came as McConnell appears dead-set on bringing the Senate back to Washington, D.C. on Monday for the sole purpose of confirming more of President Donald Trump's right-wing judicial nominees.
Democratic senators accused the Kentucky Republican of putting the health of lawmakers and Capitol employees at risk by reconvening the Senate for business completely unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic. The House of Representatives abandoned plans to return to Washington next week after Monahan warned it would be unsafe.
"McConnell is bringing back the Senate to confirm judges—judges, you read that right," tweeted Sen. Richard Blumenthal. "Not to provide real solutions to the nation's hardship and heartbreak. He's recklessly endangering Capitol workers and others for pure partisan politics."
Around half U.S. senators are 65 years of age or older, which—according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—means they are at increased risk from the novel coronavirus.
"If there's no capacity to test 100 senators in a day," wrote Politico senior editor Ryan Heath, "what hope do the rest of us have?"
scrubrinse on May 1st, 2020 at 13:33 UTC »
Never, ever forget what every member of Congress and the Supreme Court has: the Attending Physician of the United States Congress
"OAP provides members of Congress with physicals and routine examinations, on-site X-rays and lab work, physical therapy and referrals to medical specialists from military hospitals and private medical practices. When specialists are needed, they are brought to the Capitol, often at no charge to members of Congress."
"Members of Congress do not pay for the individual services they receive at the OAP, nor do they submit claims through their federal employee health insurance policies. Instead, as of 2009, members pay a flat, annual fee of $503 for all the care they receive. The rest of the cost of their care is paid for by federal funding, from the U.S. Navy budget. The annual fee has not changed significantly since 1992."
They get absolutely everything they need for health care for $42 a month, even if it's major surgery or expensive drugs.
FunctionalGray on May 1st, 2020 at 12:38 UTC »
Well they probably have exactly 53 test kits. Exactly.
cowardpasserby on May 1st, 2020 at 11:15 UTC »
Yet Pence gets one regularly