Rep. Doug Lamborn is the latest Republican to be busted showing total disregard for the health of everyone around him as COVID-19 spreads through the upper ranks of his party. The Denver Post has the goods. First off, Lamborn has kept his staff in the office even as many other members of Congress have shifted to remote work. Next, Lamborn’s deputy chief of staff—who is also his legislative director—and his military legislative assistant have both tested positive for the coronavirus—but Lamborn won’t get tested.
Lamborn is home in his Colorado district attending fundraisers, including one for a Republican congressional candidate who told reporters that Lamborn claimed to have had little interaction with a staffer who tested positive. Considering we’re talking about his deputy chief of staff/legislative director, that seems either questionable as a claim or irresponsible as a lawmaker. But it gets better.
“The chief of staff called and told us about the one positive case,” one source told The Denver Post, and another confirmed. “Three or four more people are experiencing symptoms. … It was recommended that they not tell their roommates.”
So a large part of Lamborn’s Washington, D.C., office has either tested positive or is showing symptoms, and the response is “don’t tell your roommates.” While the congressman goes to fundraisers without getting tested at all.
Lamborn put his staff at risk by making them work from the office instead of remotely, and now that they’re getting sick, he’s trying to pretend it’s not happening. Take this as one more reminder Donald Trump may be the lowest and purest form of Republican, but his behavior is not an anomaly in his party.