GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, 87, Tests Positive For The Coronavirus

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Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley speaks last month during a TV interview in the Russell Senate Office Building. He says he’ll be working from home after testing positive for the virus.

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Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley speaks last month during a TV interview in the Russell Senate Office Building. He says he’ll be working from home after testing positive for the virus.

Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa has tested positive for the coronavirus, he confirmed in a Tuesday tweet, hours after the Republican lawmaker told the public he had been exposed to the virus.

The 87-year-old wrote on Twitter that he was «feeling good» and expected to continue his Senate duties from home while he isolated and recovered.

I’ve tested positive for coronavirus. I’ll b following my doctors’ orders/CDC guidelines & continue to quarantine. I’m feeling good + will keep up on my work for the ppl of Iowa from home. I appreciate everyone’s well wishes + prayers &look fwd to resuming my normal schedule soon

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) November 17, 2020

Grassley’s diagnosis makes him one of several high-ranking Republican figures and one of more than 11 million Americans to have contracted the virus.

Despite the U.S. death toll of the virus now nearing 250,000 deaths, some prominent Republican figures have still shirked public health guidance regarding the importance of wearing protective face masks and limiting social gatherings. Grassley has been seen wearing a mask on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Monday called his colleague Sen. Sherrod Brown «a complete ass» for the Democrat’s request that a fellow senator wear his mask while addressing the room.

This is idiotic. @SherrodBrown is being a complete ass. He wears a mask to speak—when nobody is remotely near him—as an ostentatious sign of fake virtue.@DanSullivan_AK was over 50 feet away, presiding. Last I checked 50 feet is more than 6 feet. https://t.co/BoIGrAV7T1

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 17, 2020