Arizona legislature shuts down after Rudy Giuliani's COVID-19 hospitalization

Arizona's state House and Senate will close for a week "out of an abundance of caution" following Rudy Giuliani's COVID-19 diagnosis, announced via tweet by President Trump, and hospitalization, The Arizona Republic reports. Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, spent last week flying around to several states Trump lost, including Arizona, in a desperate bid to get Republican legislators to try and overturn President-elect Joe Biden's win.

Trump's campaign said in a statement that Giuliani "tested negative twice immediately preceding his trip to Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia," and "did not experience any symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 until more than 48 hours after his return." A person in contact with Giuliani told The New York Times he actually started feeling ill near the end of last week, and The Washington Post notes that asymptomatic people can still spread the virus.

The Trump campaign said no state legislators are on its contact-tracing list, citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for "close contact," defined as people who were within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or longer.

"Giuliani spent more than 10 hours discussing election concerns with Arizona Republicans — including two members of Congress and at least 10 current and future state lawmakers — at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix last Monday," the Republic reports. "The 76-year-old led the meeting maskless, flouting social distancing guidelines and posing for photos," including this one posted by the Arizona GOP.

On Tuesday, Giuliani met with Arizona's Republican House speaker and majority leader, Senate president and majority leader, and two other GOP state senators. Seven Arizona lawmakers have tested positive for COVID-19 this year, the Republic notes, and one of them, Rep. Arlando Teller (D), is still hospitalized after falling ill late November. State Sen. Martín Quezada (D) slammed GOP lawmakers, some of who attended an orientation for all new House members later last week, for their "COVID-19 irresponsibility."

Giuliani's son, Andrew, a White House adviser, announced that he had tested positive on Nov. 20, a day after appearing with his father at a news conference in Pennsylvania. Rudy Giuliani is the latest member of Trump's inner circle to contract the disease.

More stories from theweek.com
Fox's Lou Dobbs berates Stephen Miller for the White House not jumping on Ted Cruz's Supreme Court offer
The post-Mitch McConnell GOP is going to be a carnival of madness
Britain begins COVID-19 vaccination drive with 90-year-old grandmother