Just a day after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) mocked Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for urging his colleagues to wear masks on the Senate floor, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has tested positive for coronavirus.
The Republican lawmaker announced the news in a Twitter post, saying, “I’ve tested positive for coronavirus. I’ll b following my doctors’ orders/CDC guidelines & continue to quarantine.”
I’ve tested positive for coronavirus. I’ll b following my doctors’ orders/CDC guidelines & continue to quarantine. I’m feeling good + will keep up on my work for the ppl of Iowa from home. I appreciate everyone’s well wishes + prayers &look fwd to resuming my normal schedule soon
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 17, 2020
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
It should be noted that Sen. Grassley is 87 years old and the second oldest member of the Senate, making him particularly vulnerable to a virus that has already killed more than 250,000 Americans.
Nonetheless, as MSNBC‘s Joy Reid pointed out on Tuesday night, Grassley was on the Senate floor without a mask yesterday.
Sen. Chuck Grassley has tested positive for COVID-19 a day after he was on the Senate floor without a mask. pic.twitter.com/QhXexGkAdt
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) November 18, 2020
It’s Cruz, not Brown, who looks like the ‘complete ass’
On Monday, Ted Cruz went on Twitter and called Sherrod Brown a “complete ass” for urging his colleagues to wear masks on the Senate floor as a way to protect fellow senators and staff members.
Sen. Cruz threw a tantrum and accused the Ohio Democrat of wearing a mask only as an “ostentatious sign of fake virtue.”
This is idiotic. @SherrodBrown is being a complete ass. He wears a mask to speak—when nobody is remotely near him—as an ostentatious sign of fake virtue.@DanSullivan_AK was over 50 feet away, presiding. Last I checked 50 feet is more than 6 feet. https://t.co/BoIGrAV7T1
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 17, 2020
It just so happens that Sen. Grassley – now infected with COVID – was on the Senate floor when Sen. Brown was calling on his colleagues to use face coverings.
If anybody looks like a “complete ass” after this episode, it’s Ted Cruz – a man who would rather expose people to a deadly virus than wear a mask.
Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.