In a rare joint message, Democratic and Republican leaders in the US Congress rejected on Saturday a proposal from the administration of President Donald Trump to conduct a quick examination of Senators who will return to Washington next week, as Covid-19 continues to spread.
Despite their political rivalry, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell formulated a joint statement in which they affirmed that “Congress wishes to continue to direct resources toward first-line institutions,” similar to hospitals.
The 100 members of the Senate will return to Washington on Monday to participate in a public session after the parliamentary holiday that started at the end of March and was extended because of the epidemic.
The federal capital lives in the shadow of a continuous stone until May 15.
For her part, Pelosi indicated that members of Parliament will not return to work at least until next week, according to the recommendations of the institution’s doctor.
The Trump administration announced on Friday sending mobile test devices to the Senate for rapid Covid-19 checks.
Saturday morning, Trump tweeted that there is “a significant examination capacity in Washington reserved for Senators”.
He added that it also included “the parliament that should have returned to work but did not do so because of the crazy Nancy Pelosi”.
Pelosi and Mitchell replied to the offer in their letter by saying, “Congress appreciates the generous offer of the administration by placing the capabilities of a quick examination” on his shoulders, “but we refuse to respect this offer now”.
They added that parliamentarians are now following the directions of the health authorities and the doctor of Congress “so that these fast technologies become more available” to Americans.
The United States is the country most affected by the emerging coronavirus, with about 66,000 deaths and more than 1 million and 120,000 out of nearly 330 million people, according to Johns Hopkins University.
