One in-person lunch, two confirmation hearings, dozens of senators in face masks and no floor votes.
« It’s a different world, » Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat from New Mexico, said Tuesday morning donning a white mask and thick gardening gloves. He walked across the lobby of the Hart Office Building, which in a normal spring would be crawling with throngs of tourists and interest groups. It was empty and as he walked away, the echo of his shoes filled the space that was otherwise silent.
« It looks even more like a ghost town, » said Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana.
The scene at the Capitol on Tuesday served as a reminder that no one — not even America’s lawmakers — can escape the grasp coronavirus has on the country. Senators streaming into the Capitol largely sported masks. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is 86 years old and a member of the Senate’s Intelligence Committee, put hers on before entering the hearing room. An aide to Sen. Jim Inhofe gently reminded her 85-year-old boss to put his on as they approached dozens of reporters lined up against the wall outside the GOP lunch.
