The corona outbreak in the nerve center of US politics spread further on Monday. Republicans fear that this will cause permanent political damage.
After the contamination of the president himself, his wife, his campaign manager, three senators and several close advisers, the result of a corona test was positive for his press spokesman Kayleigh McEnany and two of her employees.
What Donald Trump’s illness will mean for his reelection is still unclear. In one of the first polls after disclosure of his coronavirus infection, 65 percent of Americans said it was partly their own fault for not taking the risk of it seriously enough. Half of the Republican voters agree. In that poll, Democrat Joe Biden had a slightly up 10 percentage points lead.
One of Trump’s main coaches has also been infected
Trump cannot enter the country for the time being and, even with a speedy recovery, may not be better for the next debate with Joe Biden next Wednesday. One of Trump’s most important coaches in debate preparation, Chris Christie, is also infected.
Two days earlier, Republicans hope to hold the first Senate hearing on Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett as a member of the Supreme Court. Regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, Barrett’s nomination will give Conservative judges a majority in that court for many years to come.
But the contamination of three senators could mess up the timetable, with potentially dire consequences. Two of them are members of the justice committee, which conducts the hearings. If their infection does not turn into long-term illness, the committee can begin their work, their quarantine will be finished just in time. If they are unable to attend, it will be exciting. If one other Republican then drops out, the Democratic members of the committee can put work on hold for the time being.
A majority against Barrett’s nomination
Among them, there have been no infections to date – for example, the Democrats are taking tangible political advantage from the fact that they have followed advice on keeping their distance and wearing face masks from the start. Like Donald Trump, many Republicans thought that was an exaggeration.
The Democrats could also have that advantage if the committee does go to work and forwards the nomination with an advice to the full Senate. The Republicans have a majority of 53-47 there. Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, have said they do not support Barrett’s nomination, at least not before the election. So little needs to be done and there is a majority against Barrett’s nomination. And that ‘little’ is not unlikely: not only are three party members infected, another three are in quarantine because they have been in close contact with someone who was infected. Senators are not allowed to vote on authorization.
Deathly sick to the conference room
However, Republican faction leader Mitch McConnell will do everything he can to get Barrett to the Supreme Court this month. The Senate has a rich tradition of members who literally dragged themselves to the meeting room to cast an important vote.
The Democrats, meanwhile, will use every possible rule in the Senate’s extensive rules of procedure to thwart McConnell and delay Barrett’s nomination. They cannot do that indefinitely – and after the elections, the Senate will continue in its old composition, ie with a Republican majority, for another two months.
But a quick appointment of Barrett could be a matter of life or death for the Republicans and for their presidential candidate politically speaking: Barrett then, they hope, will be an extra vote in that court in any legal cases over the results of the presidential election.
Also read:
Trump’s corona contamination will turn the campaign upside down, but how?
President Trump tests positive for the coronavirus a month before the election. It is clear that it will change the campaign. How, that is more difficult to predict.
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