On Monday, a little while after taking off on Air Force One on a trip from Mar-a-Lago to Washington, D.C., Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz found out that he would need to be tested for the 2019 novel coronavirus. Rep. Gaetz announced that he would be going into a self-quarantine. The good news for Gaetz was that he tested negative for the virus. But the world’s most Florida of Florida Men has decided to continue his self-quarantine.
As the Intercept points out, this bit of paid sick leave is rich coming from a man who has been vociferously fighting against anyone else getting paid sick leave, for years. In 2013, then Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed into law legislation banning local governments from requiring employers to offer paid sick leave. This was a bill very stridently supported by Rep. Gaetz. At the time, 43% of women employed by private business did not have a “single paid sick day,” at their disposal. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who apparently IS NOT EVEN SICK, is just gonna take a few days to himself. I guess wearing a gas mask for a photo op during a legislative session really took it out of the 37-year-old.
With the novel coronavirus now accepted as a pandemic, Republican leadership—people like Rep. Kevin McCarthy and right-wing clowns like Rep. Matt Gaetz—is trying to hold up relief legislation. They are threatening a battle on this over their stipulation that permanent paid sick leave be left off the bill. Speaker Pelosi can still ram that through the House, but the fact remains, Reps. McCarthy and Gaetz are simply parroting the big business interests that support their political party. And that means Sen. Mitch McConnell approves and can continue to stagger the legislation. In the end, I guess paid sick leave for the Republican Party remains a luxury for Republican party officials and not the citizens they represent.