WASHINGTON — North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, the top GOP officials in the General Assembly, spent last week at a fancy Republican retreat in Georgia, which is still battling one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the nation. But after recklessly traveling out-of-state — against CDC recommendations — neither has announced how they plan to protect their colleagues from potential coronavirus exposure, and the new legislative session begins today.
“If traveling out of state to brunch on the beach wasn’t bad enough, these Republicans could expose all of their colleagues,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Jessica Post. “As much as Republicans would like to bury their heads in the sand and pretend otherwise, this pandemic is still with us. This latest irresponsible move is just further proof that the GOP is deeply unserious about the crises Americans face. Speaker Moore and President Pro Tempore Berger put their colleagues and their state at risk — they must assure their constituents they will take proper precautions to avoid spreading the virus in North Carolina.”
Berger and Moore are by no means the only North Carolina Republicans to throw public health advice out the window — Senator Thom Tillis was seen without a mask after repeatedly urging North Carolinians to wear them. GOP legislators have aired conspiracy theories about the pandemic and have repeatedly tried to override Governor Cooper’s public health restrictions.
In spite of their lackadaisical attitude, the pandemic continues to rage in North Carolina and across the country. Over 3,000 college students recently tested positive, forcing the University of North Carolina to suspend in-person instruction.
The pandemic has infected nearly 170,000 North Carolinians and killed nearly 3,000.
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