Mike Turzai is the speaker of the Republican-controlled state house, and he’s a fucking monster.

This is from Brian Sims, a Democratic legislator:

Today we learned that House Speaker @MikeTurzai has known that Republican Members have either tested positive, or been quarantined, and withheld this information from Democrats including those of us who serve on the committees with those members! These same Members were among those leading the daily shouts to reopen the state. They yelled and screamed about it being safe for others across the state to gather, while they were testing positive and notifying each other, but none of the Democrats that work with them! 

One particular Committee appears to be hardest hit, & it’s a Committee I serve on that has met more than any other in the State during the pandemic. Our Members lives, and the lives of their families, were put in grave risk to protect the LIE that people are safe to gather. Members in this room have small children, elderly family members that they care for, spouses with autoimmune diseases, and lives that constantly put us at risk of inter acting with others.

For me, my story wasn’t supposed to be told, but here goes… In late January I secretly donated a kidney to a person who lives about 10 blocks from me in the City. He was dying of renal failure and I turned out to be a near perfect match. I spent several days in the hospital and several days with a friend before returning home. My recipient began to improve almost immediately and his long term prognosis is strong, and none of this was ever supposed to be public. People are cynical, especially about politics. And so I decided to share the donation with only my friends, staff, and family. 

Now, months later, in the middle of a global pandemic, I’ve discovered that my Republican colleagues exposed me, and my Democratic colleagues to Covid-19! They covered that information up because they were simultaneously arguing that the risk was low, or non-existent. They lied. So here’s what needs to happen next:

1) All positive tests in the Republican Party, and dates of those tests, be immediately made available to Members of the House.
2) The House must direct the Capitol medical staff to immediately refer all Members and staff for testing. 3) Republican Leadership must be investigated by the Attorney General to determine which laws and ethics codes have been violated, and
4) House Speaker Mike Turzai and any Members of Republican Leadership that withheld information about positive tests for Covid-19 must resign.