For An Aging Senate, Coronavirus Could Become Very Real Threat; Congressmen Self-Quarantine After CPAC Exposure

Politico: Hill Leaders Struggle With Twin Coronavirus Challenges: Protect The Nation — And Themselves
Congressional leaders face an increasingly irreconcilable challenge: insulating the nation from the fallout of the coronavirus epidemic while protecting themselves from contracting the illness. Speaker Nancy Pelosi made clear Monday there are no plans to shut down the Capitol — or restrict public visitors — even as roughly a half-dozen lawmakers announced plans to self-quarantine and alarm spread across Capitol Hill and the country about the fallout from the virus. (Caygle and Cheney, 3/9)

Politico: Coronavirus Gets Real For An Aging Senate
They traverse the country every week by plane, appear at events with hundreds of people and shake countless hands. They work in a sprawling complex with a constant influx of tourists. And two-thirds of them are over the age of 60. In other words, U.S. senators are among those most at-risk of contracting — and potentially succumbing — to the coronavirus that is spreading rapidly around the globe. (Desiderio and Levine, 3/9)

The Hill: Anxiety Over Coronavirus Grows On Capitol Hill 
Pressure is mounting on congressional leaders to cancel votes and restrict activity in the Capitol to avert a coronavirus outbreak. Several lawmakers appearing at the recent American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference and Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gatherings in the Washington, D.C., area interacted with individuals who have since tested positive for the highly contagious virus. (Wong and Lillis, 3/9)

Roll Call: Unsettling Day Provides Little Coronavirus Guidance For Congress 
On Monday, as Congress returned to the Capitol with a rapidly growing roster of members exposed to the new coronavirus, leaders and high-ranking officials could not agree on who has the ultimate authority to change security and health protocols on the Hill, where thousands of lawmakers, staffers and visitors interact every day. At the end of a remarkably unsettling day, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday that despite several lawmakers being under self-quarantine after coming in contact with people infected with the coronavirus, there will not be changes to the House schedule and legislative work will continue as planned — at least for now. (Tully-McManus, 3/9)

The Hill: Leaders Tamp Down Talk Of Closing Capitol, Changing Schedule Over Coronavirus 
Members of congressional leadership moved quickly Monday to shoot down speculation that Congress could change it schedule — or shut down the Capitol altogether — over concerns about the coronavirus. The comments by leadership in both chambers come amid growing anxiety on Capitol Hill about the potential influence the virus could have on day-to-day workings within the building, and as five lawmakers have said they are self-quarantining after being exposed to someone with the coronavirus. (Carney, 3/9)

The Washington Post: Two GOP Congressmen Who Interacted With Trump Say They Are Quarantining Due To Contact With Coronavirus Carrier
The incoming White House chief of staff, Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, was among three Republican congressmen who said Monday that they were quarantining themselves because of suspected contact with a confirmed carrier of the coronavirus. A spokesman, Ben Williamson, said that Meadows learned this weekend that he “may have come in contact” with the individual who attended the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Washington late last month. Meadows tested negative for the virus and is not displaying symptoms but is remaining home in self-quarantine until Wednesday, Williamson said in a statement. (DeBonis, 3/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Number Of Congressional Lawmakers In Self-Quarantine Due To Coronavirus Climbs To Six 
The number of congressional lawmakers who are placing themselves into self-quarantine grew to six Monday, because of contacts with people who have tested positive for coronavirus infections, ramping up concerns on Capitol Hill about vulnerability to an outbreak. Five Republicans said they were taking the step after learning that they had contact with an individual at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference who has now been diagnosed with a coronavirus infection. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R., Ariz.) made the announcement on Sunday, followed by Reps. Mark Meadows (R., N.C.), Doug Collins (R., Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) on Monday. Mr. Meadows has been named by President Trump as the next White House chief of staff. (Hughes and Leary, 3/9)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus: Congress Members, Staffers Self-Quarantine
The exposure of seven lawmakers brings the coronavirus into stark relief for lawmakers and raises new questions about whether the work of Congress will be affected. They are a group of generally older people who frequently fly on planes and attend large events where they shake hands with many people. Congressional leaders on Monday said there was no need to alter operations. “At the present time, there is no reason for us not to continue with our vital legislative work in the Capitol,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) wrote in a letter to Democrats. (Haberkorn, 3/9)

ABC News: GOP Reps. Meadows, Collins And Gaetz To Self-Quarantine, Interacted With Infected Individual At CPAC 
Georgia Rep. Doug Collins announced he’d been informed there’s a photo of him with the Conservative Political Action Conference attendee who tested positive for the virus. He shook hands with Trump on the tarmac at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, Friday and then joined the president on a tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. (Cathey, 3/9)

The Washington Post: Rep. Matt Gaetz To Self-Quarantine After Contact With CPAC Coronavirus Patient
Days after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) wore an enormous gas mask during a House floor vote on an emergency funding package for the coronavirus response, the congressman announced that he would self-quarantine for 14 days after coming into contact with a Conservative Political Action Conference participant who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. (Bellware and Gassata, 3/9)

The Hill: Gohmert Returns To Congress Despite Possible Coronavirus Exposure After Physician Recommendation
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) returned to Congress on Monday, despite potentially being exposed to the coronavirus, saying he was advised by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) physician that going into self-quarantine isn’t necessary. Gohmert said a House physician informed him that he could have been exposed to the virus at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in a Twitter statement posted Monday.The Texas representative said he was then contacted by a CDC physician who said he could go back to Washington. (Coleman, 3/9)

The Hill: Meadows Self-Quarantines After Possible Exposure To Coronavirus Patient 
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), who President Trump last week selected as his next acting chief of staff, will self-quarantine at his home after learning that he may have come into contact with a person who later tested positive for the novel coronavirus, his office said. “Out of an abundance of caution, Meadows received testing which came back negative,” Meadows spokesman Ben Williamson said. “While he’s experiencing zero symptoms, under doctors’ standard precautionary recommendations, he’ll remain at home until the 14 day period expires this Wednesday.” (Wise, 3/9)

Roll Call: Roberts Shrugs Off COVID-19 Fears To Speak To School Meal Group
Sen. Pat Roberts says his staff cited concerns about COVID-19 in trying to persuade him to cancel an appearance Monday at the School Nutrition Association’s gathering of several hundred people from across the country. Roberts, R-Kan., put those concerns aside and spoke to a friendly and enthusiastic audience, urging them to lay out the need for a child nutrition reauthorization that sets policies for the federal school lunch and breakfast programs, after-school feeding programs for children, summer feeding programs for low-income children and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program. (Ferguson, 3/9)

Politico: ‘My Phone’s Been Blowing Up’: CPAC Attendees Rip The Group’s Virus Messaging
A CPAC attendee infected with coronavirus attended multiple days of the conference on a gold-level VIP ticket as well as a Friday night Shabbat dinner associated with the event, according to people familiar with the situation. The infected attendee was a CPAC regular who made a hobby of meeting high-profile conference speakers and taking photographs with them. His gold-level ticket gave him access to a private lounge directly outside the green room for speakers on the conference’s main stage. (Schreckinger, 3/9)

The Washington Post: Secret Service Faces Challenge Protecting Trump From Coronavirus Exposure
Air Force One touched down near Orlando on Monday, and President Trump disembarked, shaking hands with local politicians on the tarmac before heading directly to a rope line where he grasped the outstretched hands of supporters. It was a routine photo op — but one that has some former Secret Service agents flagging as unsafe and worth scaling back or ending entirely amid the threat of the highly contagious novel coronavirus. (Nakamura, 3/9)

The Hill: Trump Has Not Been Tested For Coronavirus, White House Says
President Trump has not been tested for the novel coronavirus, the White House said in a statement late Monday, despite being in contact with multiple lawmakers who have since gone into self-imposed quarantine. “The President has not received COVID-19 testing because he has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. “President Trump remains in excellent health, and his physician will continue to closely monitor him.” (Samuels, 3/9)

The Hill: Trump Leaves White House Coronavirus Briefing Without Answering Questions About Health 
President Trump on Monday left a White House press briefing without taking questions about his own health after being in contact with lawmakers who have gone into self-quarantine over coronavirus concerns. Vice President Pence shortly thereafter told reporters he did not know if Trump has been tested for the coronavirus, but assured them he would try to find out. Pence added that he has not personally been tested. (Samuels, 3/9)

CNN: Trump Coronavirus Scare Shows No American Is Immune From Risk 
The White House insists President Donald Trump doesn’t need a coronavirus test, despite several members of his political circle self-quarantining after they came into contact with a man later diagnosed with the disease. They include Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, who rode in “The Beast” limousine with Trump in the Sunshine State on Monday, before climbing up the steps of Air Force One behind the President. Incoming White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is also staying home until Wednesday despite his test coming back negative. Another Trump friend, Rep. Doug Collins, a Georgia Republican, was pictured shaking hands with the President on Friday. (Collinson, 3/10)

The New York Times: Politicians’ Use Of ‘Wuhan Virus’ Starts A Debate Health Experts Wanted To Avoid
The name Covid-19 was clinical and nondescript, and that was exactly the point when the World Health Organization revealed it to guard against stigmatization of the place from which it originated. But a month later, the recommended terminology for the coronavirus has not extended to every corner of politics. Some conservative politicians and officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are using “Wuhan virus,” a term that proliferated on news sites and in political commentary, mostly before the virus received an official name. (Rogers, 3/10)