One of six Texas lawmakers who fled to Washington to stop a controversial voting bill and later tested positive for COVID-19 said he and the others are showing few symptoms and vowed to keep fighting from his hotel room.
“It wasn't expected. But here we are. We'll be fine,” said Rep. Ramon Romero of Fort Worth.
Romero said he tested positive on Sunday.
“The only thing causing me to take notice was that I had a little runny nose,” he said. “It’s been really tough for me.”
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He said it’s tough because he has to quarantine for two weeks in his hotel room – not because of the illness itself.
Romero said he was vaccinated in January and was not sick previously.
A photo of Romero and other Democratic lawmakers flying on a private plane from Austin to Washington showed none of them wore masks. They said at the time they were safe because they were all vaccinated.
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Asked if he regrets not wearing a mask on the plane, Romero said, “You know, I can't say I necessarily regret it. I regret not understanding this virus fully."
Early in their trip. Romero and his colleagues met with Vice President Kamala Harris. She later tested negative.
Romero said he has no idea where any of them got the virus, adding he'll always wear a mask in public now and take other precautions.
"If you've been exposed to someone out there in public you really should really quarantine whether you've been vaccinated or not,” he said.
As for the standoff with Republicans, Romero described Democrats as united like never before.
"There is work to be done and God knows we have time on our hands,” he said.
