Rand Paul, the second worst senator from the great state of Kentucky, has announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19. The senator made the announcement via Twitter, where he declared that he is asymptomatic and will self quarantine as advised. Paul is the first senator to test positive for the virus, and he joins House Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Ben McAdams, D-Utah, who have also tested positive for the coronavirus.
He expects to be back in the Senate after his quarantine period ends and will continue to work for the people of Kentucky at this difficult time. Ten days ago, our D.C. office began operating remotely, hence virtually no staff has had contact with Senator Rand Paul.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2020
Paul’s diagnosis can only be described as an epic case of karmic retribution. Just last week, Paul single-handedly delayed the vote on H.R.6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The bill provides paid sick leave, free coronavirus testing, food assistance, and expanded unemployment benefits.
Paul held up the voting by adding a doomed amendment to the bill, which called on the president to terminate military operations in Afghanistan. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer called the amendment “a colossal waste of time.” The amendment was voted down, and the bill passed in the Senate with only 8 senators voting against it, including Paul.
But blocking bills with bad faith amendments is a Rand Paul signature move. The senator did the same thing when he blocked the 9/11 victims bill in 2019.
Now, fellow GOP senators are scrambling to protect themselves after Paul’s diagnosis. According to reports, Paul was seen at the Senate gym and in swimming in the pool Sunday morning. He has also joined his colleagues at various lunches. One republican senator was quoted as saying, “This is a different ballgame now.”
Given Paul’s close proximity to the other lawmakers and their advanced age, tensions are running high. Sen. Mitt Romney said “All the senators are going to seek medical advice as to what action we should take to make sure that we don’t in any way spread this virus ourselves … We had a lunch together with Rand, and hope he’s doing very well, but we have to determine whether any of us should self-quarantine as a result of being in the same room.”
Given Rand Paul’s callous behavior and his history of being the worst, many took to social media to revel in the Senator’s schadenfreude:
rand paul using the senate gym and pool despite knowing he might have coronavirus is a clue in the mystery of why his neighbor whipped his ass.
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) March 22, 2020
I just want to get this straight, Rand Paul, who has been downplaying this virus for weeks and voted against giving Americans aid, is asymptomatic and can get a test immediately? But, my friends daughter in NY has 104 fever and a dry cough and they cannot get her tested anywhere.
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) March 22, 2020
Apparently DOCTOR Rand Paul didn’t quite get the (obvious) message that everyone must self-quarantine while awaiting results of a #COVID19 test. Completely defeats the point of testing if that’s not done. https://t.co/KdCz8MU3b8
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) March 22, 2020
BREAKING: Rand Paul, the only Senator to vote against the original Coronavirus aid package, has been diagnosed with Coronavirus.
RELATED: Atheism cancelled.
— Dana Gould (@danagould) March 22, 2020
We don’t have enough coronavirus tests for everyone. Many patients with symptoms can’t even get tested because of the CDC’s very stringent criteria. Yet Senator Rand Paul, who voted to prevent testing for others, somehow gets tested without having symptoms. Positively outrageous.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) March 22, 2020
RAND PAUL [while blocking coronavirus legislation]: Government-run health care is socialism!
RAND PAUL [after testing positive for coronavirus]: I just hope my government-run health care will save me.
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) March 22, 2020
Rand Paul, while awaiting test results, used the Senate gym and pool. #covidiot
— Nabilah Islam for Congress (@NabilahforGA07) March 22, 2020
Really not like Rand Paul to give away coronavirus to other people for free like that.
— TrillionDollarCoinHat (@Popehat) March 22, 2020
By the way, 6 days ago, Ron Paul — Rand Paul’s father — wrote a column calling coronavirus “a big hoax.” Welp. https://t.co/ZpUECZHaDG
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) March 22, 2020
Atlas Coughed https://t.co/HTs7fcaIMg
— Mass for Shut-ins (is a podcast) (@edburmila) March 22, 2020
Best of luck to the senators who swam, worked out, and lunched alongside Rand Paul. Must be nice to have that sweet sweet government healthcare and access to testing that your constituents lack. And, as always, a friendly a reminder to register to vote BY MAIL and get these monsters out of office.
(via CNN, image: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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