- Photos of mask-clad reporters standing far away from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were shared across social media no Thursday.
- The surreal images captured the unsettling reality of our times.
- The photos were taken amid a legislative standoff over a fourth coronavirus aid package.
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The coronavirus pandemic has altered virtually every aspect of modern life - including how reporters communicate with politicians on Capitol Hill.
On Thursday, surreal photos showed mask-clad reporters speaking to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at distance, standing at least six feet apart, per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Though the CDC recently recommended Americans wear a mask or cloth to cover their nose and mouth, McConnell was not wearing one. At 78, McConnell is among the at-risk population for the novel coronavirus. Multiple members of Congress, including Republican colleagues of McConnell, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The moment, which captured the unsettling reality at present, generated a lot of chatter on social media. Normally, reporters would be surrounding a politician like McConnell and jostling to get closer in order to ask a question. But times have changed.
Congress has already passed three coronavirus-related bills, including a historic $2 trillion stimulus package. Senate Democrats rejected a fourth coronavirus aid package on Thursday, pushing against a White House request for an additional $250 billion to a small business relief fund. Meanwhile, Republicans rejected a request from Democrats for another $250 billion for hospitals and states.
"Nobody thinks this will be the Senate's last word on COVID-19," McConnell said Thursday of the legislative standoff, per the Associated Press. "Let's continue to work together, with speed and bipartisanship. We will get through this crisis together."
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