House members who are otherwise supposed to be in quarantine due to exposure to the Chinese coronavirus are reportedly using a separate entrance and “secure enclosure” on Sunday to vote in the speakership election.
Capitol Hill physician Brian Monahan said the members in question, who tested negative for the virus, will be permitted to vote via a “secure enclosure.” Such will “ensure continuity of operations of essential functions.” Further, Monahan said they will be “permitted to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19 provided they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community.”
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) reportedly called the action “shameful,” adding that the “only reason this is happening is because Speaker Pelosi needs to be re-elected speaker”:
The news comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) faces a critical speaker’s vote, unable to afford losing many members of her caucus due to the lower chamber’s shrinking Democrat majority.
“Nancy Pelosi’s grip on the speakership is so tenuous that she is forcing members exposed to coronavirus to break quarantine and come to the Capitol to vote for her and protect her political power,” the senior GOP aide told Breitbart News.