The Senate Judiciary Hearings Could Be Amy Coney Barrett’s Second Superspreader Event

Maskless GOP officials rush to get Trump’s nominee on the court in time for a case that could take health care from millions.

Erin Schaff/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Nearly two weeks after Republicans gathered at the White House to celebrate President Trump’s third nominee to the Supreme Court at a ceremony that quickly became connected to a cluster of positive coronavirus cases, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)—one of the at least 11 people who tested positive after attending the September 26 event—returned to Capitol Hill on Monday to appear in-person for Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing.

Lee declined to wear a mask while giving his opening remarks. He was seen closely talking to other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), whose own refusal to take a coronavirus test prompted the cancellation of a primary debate with his Democratic challenger, Jamie Harrison, on Friday. (A doctor’s note purporting to clear Lee’s appearance on Capitol Hill confirmed that he had developed symptoms, “including remaining but improving fatigue” over the last week.)

Despite his close contact with a recently-infected Trump, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows refused to engage with reporters unless they agreed to speak with him while he was maskless. “I’m more than 10 feet away,” Meadows said, appearing to mock social-distancing concerns before storming away from a group of Capitol Hill journalists. “I’m not going to talk to the press.”

The reckless actions came as Democrats blasted Republicans for ignoring precedent and potential coronavirus safety issues to jam through Barrett’s nomination so she can be seated in time to hear a challenge seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act. That case, which the high court is slated to hear just one week after the election, would kick more than 20 million people off their health insurance in the middle of a pandemic that’s killed more than 210,000 people in the United States. It’s against this prospect of destroying the ACA that Republicans—from the president to Lee—appear emboldened to resume public events, potentially risking the lives of those around them.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate