House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy offered details on how the House would vote on the $2 trillion coronavirus economic relief package while practicing “social distancing” so lawmakers don’t catch the virus.
The Senate late Wednesday night unanimously passed the bill, which is now set to be cleared by the House and sent to President Trump for his signature. McCarthy, a California Republican, told reporters Thursday it can pass by voice vote.
“We have members on both sides of the aisle who have the virus. We have members who are quarantined,” McCarthy said when asked whether his members were all on board with the massive spending bill. “We have members who have challenges with airlines that are getting their flights canceled. So I think there will be enough [members] to make sure we get this through.”
While the voice vote Friday will not require all members to be on the floor, McCarthy said the setup in the chamber will be different than the usual churn of lawmakers backslapping and shaking hands.
