A state Senator who represents South County and West County and has been a harsh critic of business restrictions intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 has tested positive for the contagion and may have infected others during two lengthy committee meetings.
Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, confirmed on Twitter Friday afternoon that he is ill, sending the tweet about 18 hours after rumors began circulating of his infection.
“I am self-isolating after I have tested positive for COVID-19,” Koenig wrote. “Fortunately, I am experiencing mild symptoms. Out of an abundance of caution, I will be quarantining at home for the next 10 days. I look forward to fully resuming my duties for the people of St. Louis County soon.”
“We are more than we have been,” Blunt told hundreds of people in the socially-distanced live audience and the millions more watching on television. “And we are less than we hope to be.” He called for unity and common purpose.
He said those words as he stood before a Capitol severely damaged, just two weeks earlier, by anti-American insurrectionists.
Blunt, who chaired the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, is a Republican. He surely understands that disagreement between the parties, and the people, won’t go away because of a few words on Jan. 20.
We will argue with one another soon enough. Blunt may be in the middle of it. He may be challenged in 2022 by misguided zealots in his own party.
A Republican state Senator who participated in two lengthy committee hearings this week has tested positive for COVID-19, Senate Democratic leader John Rizzo said Friday.
Outside the Capitol walls as the Missouri Legislature convened for the 2021 legislative session, protesters objecting to the certification of the results of the presidential election gathered while nearly 1,000 miles away rioters in support of President Donald Trump forced their way into the U.S. Capitol, causing it to be locked down.
The effects of the riot could be felt in the state capitol, where Rep. Ingrid Burnett, a Democrat from Kansas City, called for a moment of silence in support of the country and Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, a Democrat from Independence, canceled a scheduled press conference Wednesday afternoon in light of it.
As a new legislative session kicks off, education reform will be a top issue for lawmakers to tackle, Missouri House Speaker Rob Vescovo declared Wednesday.
Lawmakers from across the state returned to the Capitol in Jefferson City Wednesday afternoon, where they swore in members and elected Vescovo, a Republican from Arnold, as speaker.
With the coronavirus still spreading throughout the state resulting in thousands of new cases each day, the first day of the 2021 legislative session felt its impact with normally bustling halls eerily empty and House members sworn in in batches, limiting the amount of people in the Chamber at once.