Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is making an appearance at the Senate confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump’s nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, just 10 days after testing positive for COVID-19.
Lee delivered his opening statement on Monday morning without wearing a mask.
“Welcome Judge Barrett. Welcome to your family as well. Judge Barrett, you and I have a number of things in common. We were both raised in large families. In fact, we’re both one of seven children,” Lee said.
He added, “In your case, as I recall, you’re the oldest of seven children, which means that long before you had your own seven children, you were also the de facto mother to many others. The way things often work in large families is such that the oldest child very often takes on responsibilities at an early age. Those responsibilities have undoubtedly helped you throughout life.”
Check out his comments below:
GOP Sen. Mike Lee, who tested positive for COVID-19 10 days ago, is attending the Amy Coney Barrett hearings in person and does not wear a mask during his opening statement https://t.co/uScvfX9o80 pic.twitter.com/G4XTaWLkNl
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 12, 2020
Lee posted a letter from Attending Physician of the United States Congress Dr. Brian Monahan to prove he has been cleared to leave isolation.
“Based upon current CDC guidelines, you have met criteria to end COVID-19 isolation for those with mild to moderate disease,” Monahan wrote.
He continued, “Specifically, it has been greater than 10 days since symptom onset, you have had no fever in absence of fever reducing medication for at least 24 hours, and your other symptoms have improved. The CDC does not recommend repeat SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing if these criteria are met.”
Lee is not the only senator to have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) also announced they tested positive for the coronavirus.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris revealed that she would be attending confirmation hearings for Barrett remotely from her Senate office in the Hart building as a precautionary measure, as IJR previously reported.