Several Republican senators say they will not attend GOP convention as COVID-19 cases in Florida spike
Category: News & Politics
Via: krishna • 6 years ago • 2 commentsBy: Nicholas Wu and Savannah Behrmann
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) will not attend the GOP convention next month in Florida.
WASHINGTON – Several top Republican lawmakers said they would skip the Republican National Convention as coronavirus cases climb in Florida, where President Donald Trump is set to accept the party's nomination in August before a large crowd.
The RNC backed out of Charlotte, North Carolina, last month and picked Jacksonville as the main site for the convention after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles wouldn't commit to allowing a full convention because of health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On a Monday conference call with local reporters, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, at age 86 the oldest Republican senator, said he would avoid the convention "because of the virus situation."
Grassley said he has attended every RNC since he was elected to the Senate in 1980.
Collins is in a tight race this year that could be pivotal in determining who holds the Senate majority in the next Congress.
Romney and Murkowski have had high-profile clashes with Trump; Romney was the only Republican senator to vote to impeach the president earlier this year, while Murkowski opposed ObamaCare’s repeal and Supreme Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who is retiring at the end of the year, also announced today that he would not attend, with his office saying he was saving delegate spots for people who had not previously gone to a party convention.
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Several top Republican lawmakers said they would skip the Republican National Convention as coronavirus cases climb in Florida.
More about the YUGE new virus surge in Florida:
Florida has seen its average new daily cases increase more than tenfold since it began reopening in early May.
The surge has been driven largely by states in the South and the West that were among the first to ease restrictions established during the virus’s initial wave in the spring. Epidemiologists had warned that reopening could lead to waves of new infections if it was done before the virus was contained
As cases continue to rise, hospitals across the South and the West have been flooded, forcing them to cancel elective surgeries and discharge some Covid-19 patients early to make beds available.
And at least two states recorded their highest death totals for a single day: Florida, with 120, and Tennessee, with 22.
In Florida, more than 40 intensive-care units in 21 counties have hit capacity. In Mississippi, five of the state’s largest hospitals have already run out of I.C.U. beds for critical patients. ( Read it all )
Since the convention was moved, Jacksonville Florida has begun requiring that face masks be worn in public and indoor locations as a health precaution.
Trump's gonna be really pissed!!!