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Profile in Cowardice: Pelosi Keeps House Out of Session While GOP Led Senate Returns Next Week and President Trump Stays in DC to Lead Coronavirus Fight

April 28, 2020
Kristinn Taylor

With millions of Americans risking their health and lives working “essential” jobs, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will keep the House of Representatives in recess next week, according to a statement Tuesday by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) that cited the House physician. The decision comes after House Democrats reportedly expressed fear about returning to work. The Republican led Senate is scheduled to reconvene next week in solidairy with essential workers. President Trump has stayed at the White House for nearly two months (with one trip to Norfolk, VA, to see off the USNS Comfort) to lead the battle against the COVID-19 Chinese coronavirus, while Pelosi has bragged about eating her luxury ice cream collection while she stays at her San Francisco mansion.

The House has been in pro forma recess since late March, with the exception of a one day session last Thursday to vote on another financial relief package. As of Monday, the House was scheduled to return next week on May 4, the same day as the Senate returns. Politico reported that terrified House Democrats rebelled against the planned return:

…House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) made a similar announcement Monday afternoon on a caucus call with House Democrats.

“Nancy and I have talked a couple of times today … We have decided we will come back on the 4th.”

But the announcement was met with almost sudden resistance, as several Democrats spoke up on the call, raising concerns about the safety of returning while many of their states remain on lockdown with strict social distancing in place.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said returning next week would be “dangerous,” according to multiple Democrats on the call…

Hoyer said the change to keep the House in recess was made in consultation with the House physician and Members of the House.

“During my weekly press conference, I said that after hearing from our Members and consulting with the Speaker and the Attending Physician, the House will not reconvene next week. We will return once the CARES 2 package is ready.”

“I told reporters I continue to be focused on getting the people’s business done through remote work, and I will be holding a meeting on this today.”

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday reiterated McConnell’s determination to return to work in solidarity with Americans who are working through the pandemic crisis.

“If it is essential for doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, truck drivers, grocery-store workers, and other brave Americans to keep carefully manning their duty stations, then it is essential for Senators to carefully man ours and support them. We are reconvening next week.”

McConnell press release from Monday:

McConnell Confirms Senate Will Reconvene May 4th, Previews Commonsense Reforms to Strengthen Nation’s Response & Re-Opening

This crisis has every part of our society in dire need of stability, clarity, and certainty. The Senate has already stepped up, but our work is not over. I look forward to seeing all my colleagues next Monday.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement today regarding the upcoming Senate schedule:

“Senators will return to Washington D.C. one week from today. We will modify routines in ways that are smart and safe, but we will honor our constitutional duty to the American people and conduct critical business in person. If it is essential for doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, truck drivers, grocery-store workers, and many other brave Americans to keep carefully manning their own duty stations, then it is essential for Senators to carefully man ours and support them.

“The Senate must focus on concrete steps to strengthen our response to this complex crisis. We cannot get distracted by pre-existing partisan wish-lists or calls to paper over decades of reckless decisions that had nothing to do with COVID-19.

“Here is just one example of an urgent need. While our nation is asking everyone from front-line healthcare professionals to essential small-business owners to major employers to adapt in new ways and keep serving, a massive tangle of federal and state laws could easily mean their heroic efforts are met with years of endless lawsuits.

“We cannot let that happen. Our nation is facing the worst pandemic in over a century and potentially the worst economic shock since the Great Depression. Our response must not be slowed, weakened, or exploited to set up the biggest trial lawyer bonanza in history.

“The brave healthcare workers battling this virus and the entrepreneurs who will re-open our economy deserve strong protections from opportunistic lawsuits. Some such protections were included in the bipartisan CARES Act. We will need to expand and strengthen them.

“Republicans will proudly insist on these and other strong, pro-certainty, pro-growth reforms throughout any and all future discussions. The American people do not need tangential left-wing daydreams. They need commonsense steps that move us toward the response, recovery, and future readiness that Americans need and deserve.

“This crisis has every part of our society in dire need of stability, clarity, and certainty. The Senate has already stepped up, but our work is not over. I look forward to seeing all my colleagues next Monday.”

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