Good morning.
Playbook today: PEOPLE IN THE CAPITOL ARE SICK AND TIRED.
QUITE LITERALLY. THE CONGRESS -- the legislature for the most powerful country on Planet Earth -- has been allowing lawmakers to come into the Capitol without being tested for the deadly coronavirus.
Playbook today: PEOPLE IN THE CAPITOL ARE SICK AND TIRED.
QUITE LITERALLY. THE CONGRESS -- the legislature for the most powerful country on Planet Earth -- has been allowing lawmakers to come into the Capitol without being tested for the deadly coronavirus.
TIRED: PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE BUILDING are furious with an institution that does not have uniform rules or masking requirements, does not mandate testing and is run with minimal oversight.
-- FROM A HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER: “[Pelosi] is getting hammered by everyone. People are really really mad. Ripshit might be a better word … Members want masks made mandatory.”
-- ONE SENIOR AIDE to a member who came in close contact with GOHMERT was told by the attending physician that they cannot get a test unless they are symptomatic.
- A SCHEDULER TO A HOUSE R MEMBER “Our office has been required to be fully staffed since session resumed at the end of June (including an intern). While mask use isn’t banned, it’s also not encouraged, and has been derided on several occasions by [chief of staff] and the member”
-- FROM AN AIDE TO A REPUBLICAN MEMBER WHO HAD COVID: “I’m obviously not allowed to speak on behalf of anyone but it may be worth looking into how many Republican offices are also requiring all staff and interns to come in to work while taking no precautions. …
Ridiculing people for wearing masks is also not uncommon."
“THERE IS A GENERAL FEAR that saying anything critical of the current office policy - or lack of policy - will lead to retaliation.”
-- FROM A HOUSE GOP STAFFER: “I work in a Republican House office and while we’re not encouraged to not wear a mask, we are essentially required to work in the office. …
We worked from home for a couple days when one of my coworkers was potentially exposed to Covid, but even then, many of my colleagues kept working in the office.
We were told to report to work as normal even before the test came back negative because the results were taking too long. I was left feeling guilty for teleworking even though I have an underlying health condition.”
-- FROM A CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER TECH STAFFER: “If you asked me to give you a breakdown of mask usage in member offices, it’s nearly universal in Democratic offices based on my random observations; within Republican offices, it’s probably under 50%.
And some GOP offices ask why you are wearing a mask, which puts our staff in an awkward position -- do you say because of the pandemic and risk the office taking that as a political stand? Do you take it off to make them feel better?"
“I USUALLY SAY SOMETHING LIKE ‘Well, they told us we had to or we’ll get fired or end up in HR or something,’ which generally satisfies most offices, and lets you dodge the political minefield that wearing a mask has become.”
