Vice President Kamala Harris required senators – and their spouses and guests above the age of two – to submit negative Covid tests before joining the veep for swearing-in photo ops at the convening of the 118th Congress Tuesday.
Breitbart reported on the testing requirement days before Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony on Sunday after obtaining an email directive sent to senators from Harris’s office. In the directive, senators were also reminded that vaccination status does not exempt anyone from the testing requirement.
The email, a forwarded message from Grisella Martinez, the Director of Legislative Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, reads:
“We look forward to welcoming your Senator on January 3, 2023, to the ceremonial reenactment for incoming and newly re-elected Senators in the Old Senate Chamber … As you are aware, White House COVID-19 protocols require that anyone over two years of age who will interact with the Vice President take a medically-administered antigen test within 24 hours prior to interaction and receive a negative result. This policy applies regardless of vaccination status.”
Harris’s testing requirement for the Senate photo op comes just one year after the Democratic National Committee was forced to cut the price of a picture with her by a whopping two-thirds when so few were purchased.
According to Breitbart, some senators were so upset about Harris’s requirement that they considered sitting the picture out entirely. One source told Breitbart that children and grandchildren should “not be subjected to this insanity so Kamala can pretend to care about fighting coronavirus.”
Polling released last month showed Harris struggling mightily with the American electorate; just 38% of Americans approve of Harris’s job performance as Vice President, while 44% disapprove of her strongly.
The Covid testing directive from Harris’ office comes just a few months after President Joe Biden famously declared that the pandemic was over in a September sit down on ‘60 Minutes’ with CBS News and Scott Pelley.
Biden today: "[Covid] is a global health emergency."
Biden last month: "The pandemic is over." pic.twitter.com/E9vHadoy5L
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) October 25, 2022
No senator publicly commented on Harris’s Covid testing directive ahead of the swearing-in of the 188th Congress.
