Palpable Fear Inside the Capitol

“For almost two weeks, the Capitol has witnessed a slow-motion version of some of the most terrifying days inside Congress,” the Washington Post reports.

“The atmosphere boiled over with anger as legislative gridlock helped fuel the precipitous drops in financial markets at levels that dwarfed the Wall Street panic after a failed House vote on a 2008 rescue package. Lawmakers grew more bitter as negotiations dragged on over a $2 trillion relief package as the U.S. coronavirus death toll soared past 600 and climbed higher, with some experts warning it will exceed the 3,000 lives lost in the 2001 terrorist attacks.”

“Yet what truly distinguishes this crisis from those others is fear, the fear inside the Capitol hallways. Three lawmakers and several aides have now tested positive for the disease.”