Sen. Rand Paul is defending himself after coming under fire for exposing other lawmakers to the coronavirus while he was awaiting his own test results — which turned out to be positive.
Paul, a physician and Kentucky Republican, was on Capitol Hill and went to the Senate gym Sunday before he learned that he was the first senator to be infected with COVID-19. That announcement prompted two other GOP senators — Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, both of Utah — to go into self-quarantine after spending time with Paul.
Paul, who voted against two emergency coronavirus spending bills this month, said in a Monday statement that he didn't suspect he had the virus and was not showing symptoms when he was tested on March 16. He said he was tested as a precaution after traveling "extensively in the U.S." and because he had part of one lung removed last year in surgery after he was attacked by a neighbor.
Paul also said he is a strong example of why more testing is needed.
"For those who want to criticize me for lack of quarantine, realize that if the rules on testing had been followed to a T, I would never have been tested and would still be walking around the halls of the Capitol," he said. "The current guidelines would not have called for me to get tested nor quarantined. It was my extra precaution, out of concern for my damaged lung, that led me to get tested."
The Kentucky senator disclosed his positive virus diagnosis in a tweet on Sunday afternoon that said he was "asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his travel and events."
Exposing more senators to the virus risks the health of lawmakers, many of whom are in the age group with the highest mortality rate.
Along with Paul, Romney and Lee, Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Rick Scott of Florida were already in self-quarantine after exposure to other individuals who tested positive.
