House Speaker Nancy Pelosi swore in a massive crowd of members and delegates to mark the 117th Congress, instead of all in smaller groups as previously announced for COVID-19 safety floor guidelines.
One of the Democratic congresswomen who voted on the House floor, Rep. Gwen Moore, had announced she tested positive for coronavirus just days ago but was still planning to vote. Pelosi was hunting down every vote she could to reprise her House Speaker role. Rep. Moore wrote on Twitter that she had been medically cleared to travel and work on behalf of Wisconsin’s Fourth Congressional District.
An uproar on social media slammed the Speaker of the House for calling in covid-positive members of Congress just to vote for her in person. She used a plexiglass structure in the chamber to protect exposed covid-19 members and secure enough votes for a 4th term as House Speaker.
“This is completely against everything we’re told throughout this entire pandemic for house operations. To build a structure like that in the dark of night, to only protect the votes that Speaker Pelosi needs to get elected speaker, is shameful,” said House Administration Committee ranking member Rodney Davis.
He argued that there was a lack of communication with the Minority and that Pelosi’s speakership will be used as an issue in the 2022 midterms for how she weaponized votes under her leadership. 427 votes were cast for the speaker role. 216 votes went to Nancy Pelosi while 209 for Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who will remain as the chamber’s minority leader. The remaining votes went to other potential members.
Three other members of congress also slipped under the radar and were allowed to vote Sunday due to “special arrangements,” despite still being in their quarantine windows. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that the 14-day quarantine is the best way to reduce the risk of virus spread. Isn’t that what Democrats have been preaching for a year now? Stop the spread?
The coronavirus insists on shutting down thousands of businesses and schools to “trust the science” but won’t stop Nancy Pelosi’s quest for power. Members gathered for Pelosi and did whatever they could to retain her role while criticizing the other side for the same thing.
Imagine if this was a group of Republicans? There would be a media storm over the act. It’s okay to infect others with COVID-19 as long as Pelosi remains Speaker. That’s the narrative being pushed here.
The event, reported by New York Times Emily Cochrane, was called “utter chaos.” She said there was no social distancing, masks were being removed to speak, there was yelling, and a bottleneck of people leaving at the same time.
I believe this is what the Democrats call a super-spreader event, right? House Speaker Pelosi will find a way to blame the Republican Party for all of this soon enough.