Iowa Sen. Grassley tests positive; states plead for more federal help as virus outbreak worsens
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the longest-serving Republican senator and third in the line of presidential succession, said Tuesday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Grassley is the president pro tempore of the Senate, meaning he presides over the Senate in the absence of Vice President Mike Pence and is third in line to become president, behind Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The president pro tempore is traditionally the senator in the majority party who has served the longest.
By missing votes Tuesday, Grassley broke a 27-year streak of not missing a single Senate vote. According to his office, the last time he missed a vote was in 1993, when he was in Iowa assisting with relief efforts after severe flooding.
Meanwhile, with more shutdowns looming and a vaccine months away from wide distribution, governors across the U.S. are pleading for more help from Washington ahead of what is shaping up to be a bleak winter.
Renewed restrictions on indoor businesses, overloaded hospitals and the coming end of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans have led governors to paint a dire picture of the months ahead unless the federal government steps in with more money and leadership to help them shore up their damaged budgets and beat back the resurgence of the coronavirus.
In other developments:
- The deadly rise in COVID-19 cases across the U.S. is forcing state and local officials to adjust their blueprints for fighting the virus, with Republican governors adopting mask mandates and schools scrapping plans to reopen classrooms.
- Two COVID-19 vaccines might be nearing the finish line, but scientists caution it’s critical that enough people volunteer to help finish studying other candidates in the U.S. and around the world.
- Worries about the worsening pandemic pushed Wall Street to tap the brakes Tuesday on its big November rally, which had vaulted stocks back to record heights.
- Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has announced a special COVID-19 legislative session to discuss a $220 million stimulus package to aid bars, restaurants, tenants, landlords and students. Polis cited inaction in Washington on a new coronavirus relief package as one reason for the session.
- British Airways said Tuesday that it will start testing passengers flying from the U.S. to London’s Heathrow Airport for COVID-19 in an effort to persuade the British government it should scrap rules requiring most international travelers to quarantine for 14 days.
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