A Damning Celebration
Illustration by Carolyn Burt | The Corsair
As an elementary school student, I frequently sat at the kitchen table and glared at my homework. For hours, I would look at it, hoping it would complete itself. As the afternoon turned into evening, and evening turned into bedtime, my homework would still reflect back at me, uncompleted. I would whine and complain, begging my mother to let me go and play videogames, but her answer was always the same: “you have made your bed, and now you have to lie in it.”
For months, President Donald Trump has publicly dismissed the significance of COVID-19. He has repeatedly claimed that the virus is “completely under control.” On Sept. 29, in the hectic debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden, the commander-in-chief mocked Biden for wearing a mask, saying, “I don't wear face masks like him. Every time you see him he's got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away...and he shows up with the biggest mask I've ever seen."
Two days later, President Trump announced on Twitter he and first lady Melania Trump had contracted the potentially fatal virus.
Since it made landfall in the U.S., COVID-19 has been largely ignored by many Republican figureheads. Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Thom Tillis, and the President sit atop a list of politicians who have been unwilling to admit the severity of the current pandemic, and have been spotted ignoring local public health requirements. Donald Trump refused to wear a mask in public on numerous occasions, and was first photographed wearing one on Sept. 12, nearly nine months after the first American case of the coronavirus. On July 12, Ted Cruz was photographed on a commercial airline maskless, despite the company's policies. Thom Tillis was seen at the Republican National Convention amidst a sizable crowd without a face covering.
As Republicans attempt to move swiftly into a Supreme Court confirmation hearing, they are met with a challenge. Three GOP senators present for the announcement of Amy Coney Barrett’s selection for the court have tested positive, along with several other public figures in attendance. The largely maskless and jubilant event could prove to be pivotal in both the immediate and long-term future of the nation.
The indefinite absence of Thom Tillis, Ron Johnson, and Mike Lee means that Republicans have temporarily lost the majority necessary to push Barrett into the Supreme Court. Unlike the House of Representatives, which adjusted its rules to allow for remote voting, the Senate requires all lawmakers to be physically present to cast a vote.
The election, now less than a month away, presents a fast approaching deadline for Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has made it clear Barrett’s nomination is his top priority; however, he is now faced with an increasingly daunting task. On Saturday, Oct. 3, McConnell announced the Senate would be taking a two-week recess in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 on Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee will still proceed to consider Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 12, but a final vote is now reliant on timely recoveries of Tillis, Lee, and Johnson.
According to Senate Minority Leader Charles Shumer, the “irresponsible” and “dangerous” hearing is against the will of the people, and the well-being of their representatives.
Republicans will now sit and cross their fingers, hoping the next few weeks go uninterrupted, but a risk of failure is certainly present.
They have made their bed, and now they will have to lie in it.
Jack Hughes
Editor-in-Chief
‘The Corsair’
