I called up Slate's Jim Newell and asked him to tell me a little bit more about Washington

in a time of social distancing.

Well, at least from the one day that I spent on the hill last week, reporters tried to stay

six feet away and centers tried to stay six feet away, but it sort of collapsed as people were trying to get information.

You know, if you give a senator six feet, then they're going to run away.

As senators negotiate their third coronavirus bill of the month, this one with an almost impossibly high price tag, Jim's noticed these legislators getting stuck.

On the one hand, their work is more urgent than ever. On the other, they've got these habits.

They have little trouble just, you know, not being back-slapping good old boys.

So they get right up to each other's faces.

And I think today it's Sunday afternoon, we're seeing what the ultimate result of senators not taking social distancing serious enough was where we have Rand Paul, who now has tested positive for

the coronavirus, having gone to the Senate gym and swimming pool this morning while he was waiting

on his tests. So. And that guy's a doctor. Right. Well, that's where we are. And now they're

trying to close out this third bill, which is enormous. And, you know, at the same time,

they're all worrying if they should all be going home right now. Yeah. I mean, passing the bill,

to me, seems to rely on getting a lot of at-risk people in one room at once to breathe on each other.

You know, I was thinking maybe I should go back up tomorrow on Monday as they try to vote on this bill, but I don't know if I'm going to do that anymore.

Just because it's a petri dish?

Just because it's a nest of coronavirus up there is my interpretation of it.

You know, you walk in the door and a coronavirus in a tuxedo greets you pretty much.

That's what it's become.

Today on the show, the latest coronavirus legislation is turning out to be the most contentious

so far.

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