Vice President Kamala Harris’ office said she will not quarantine after meeting with Texas Democrat lawmakers who recently tested positive for COVID-19.
In a statement on late Saturday, Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders said it “was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined.”
Harris met with some Texas state legislators on July 13 after they fled the state to deny Republican state lawmakers quorum to start a special legislative session. The Democrats said they had no other choice but to leave Texas to stop the passage of an election overhaul bill that’s favored by the GOP, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other senior Republicans have said that they will be arrested and detained when they return to the Lone Star State.
“The House Democratic Caucus is following all [Centers for Disease Control] guidance and protocols. This is a sober reminder that COVID is still with us, and though vaccinations offer tremendous protection, we still must take necessary precautions,” Caucus Chairman Chris Turner said in a statement on Saturday.
Sanders furthermore said that “the Vice President and her staff are fully vaccinated” and don’t appear to be fearful of contracting the virus.
Harris on Wednesday appeared alongside President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at an event at the White House.
Over the weekend, unnamed White House officials said Harris had a scheduled medical appointment at a Washington-area hospital on Sunday, which they said was unrelated to the COVID-19 diagnoses. The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for comment.
Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, told Newsmax on Saturday that the Democrats could be “arrested as soon as they step back on Texas soil.”
“We have a minority of Democrats who decided that they are not going to let any other legislator vote, so they’re not even going let other legislators do their duty,” he added. “It’s clearly a violation of the law.”
But Texas Democrats said their move was necessary to prevent the passage of the GOP-backed election bill.
Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-Texas) told CNN: “The message is very clear: America, we need to wake up, we need to preserve our democracy, we need a federal voting rights solution, and we need it now.
“This is a now or never moment. We’re holding the line in Texas, and we’re going to fight with all our might. But even if we were to fix this problem in Texas, it doesn’t solve the problem for the rest of the nation,” he said.
Republicans, meanwhile, said the bill is needed to protect future elections and restore the public’s confidence in them.
