Claudia Grisales
Claudia Grisales is a congressional reporter assigned to NPR's Washington Desk.
Before joining NPR in June 2019, she was a Capitol Hill reporter covering military affairs for Stars and Stripes. She also covered breaking news involving fallen service members and the Trump administration's relationship with the military. She also investigated service members who have undergone toxic exposures, such as the atomic veterans who participated nuclear bomb testing and subsequent cleanup operations.
Prior to Stars and Stripes, Grisales was an award-winning reporter at the daily newspaper in Central Texas, the Austin American-Statesman, for 16 years. There, she covered the intersection of business news and regulation, energy issues and public safety. She also conducted a years-long probe that uncovered systemic abuses and corruption at Pedernales Electric Cooperative, the largest member-owned utility in the country. The investigation led to the ousting of more than a dozen executives, state and U.S. congressional hearings and criminal convictions for two of the co-op's top leaders.
Grisales is originally from Chicago and is an alum of the University of Houston, the University of Texas and Syracuse University. At Syracuse, she attended the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where she earned a master's degree in journalism.
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Congress saw its first two members enter self-quarantine on March 8. Several outbreaks forced dozens more to quarantine after testing positive. Lawmakers started receiving the vaccine in December.
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President Trump has signed a massive COVID-19 relief and omnibus spending package, deputy press secretary Judd Deere said Sunday night on Twitter.
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Top leaders and rank-and-file members are getting the first wave of COVID-19 vaccines. It could speed up the return to business as usual. But some lawmakers say members should wait behind others. -
As congressional leaders negotiate, other lawmakers are demanding more details. Plus, Democrats are objecting to a push by some Senate Republicans to limit emergency lending rules.
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Congressional leaders are finalizing legislation that would include a fresh round of smaller stimulus checks. The proposal abandons more controversial issues.
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The senator from Iowa said he had been isolating since announcing his exposure to the virus on Tuesday. He is third in line for the presidency.
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The latest cases highlight the absence of a widespread testing program for Congress more than seven months after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic.
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Even after three Senators tested positive for the coronavirus, there are still no testing or tracing protocols on Capitol Hill. There are bipartisan calls to create a regular testing system.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rolled out a targeted coronavirus aid plan amid stalled negotiations on a broader deal. Democrats oppose the bill and it's unlikely to advance.
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Talks between top Congressional Democrats and White House officials have failed to reconcile the coronavirus relief bills of the House and the Senate.
