Several US lawmakers, especially from the Republican Party, have been criticised by their colleagues for refusing to wear protective face masks in the US Capitol building to stem the spread of COVID-19.
On Monday, the office of US Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX) announced the congressman had passed away due to COVID-19 complications, which he contracted last month. Wright is the first sitting member of Congress to die from the virus.
According to a count by GovTrack, 71 members of the US House of Representatives and Senate have tested positive for COVID-19, although Wright is the first to die while in office from the respiratory illness. In December, a congressman-elect from Louisiana, 41-year-old Republican Luke Letlow, died of COVID-19 just days before he was due to be sworn into office.
He was elected to Congress in 2018 to represent Texas’ sixth district, which spreads across the central part of the state and includes the city of Arlington, where he served in local government for many years.
The politician was also known for being one of the 126 Republicans who signed an amicus brief in December 2020 backing Texas’ lawsuit against Pennsylvania filed in the US Supreme Court that sought to challenge the Keystone State’s election results, which showed Joe Biden as the winner over then-US President Donald Trump. The court rejected the plea and Biden was subsequently sworn in as president on January 20 2021.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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