McCarthy says Pelosi hasn’t ‘allowed’ COVID-19 testing on Capitol Hill

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday questioned why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to allow COVID-19 testing on Capitol Hill.

"I've laid out a plan that's very clear that the speaker has never done anything on, nor has she allowed testing in this building," McCarthy, the chamber's top Republican, said during a press conference.

"There is no testing here — that is a greater risk than we had before, and I've watched the speaker do nothing about it," he said.

McCarthy spoke one day after Texas GOP Rep. Louis Gohmert tested positive for the virus. 

McCarthy said members of the press and congressional staffers should be tested inside the Capitol complex.

"The whole staff should not be back in the offices," he said. "We've had a plan for a long time. We just haven't had a speaker that's been willing to implement it or think about the safety of everybody else. It's reactionary."

He also said that congressional committee staff and employees in the offices of members who have contracted COVID-19 should be tested.

"Why haven't we tested those people that are around them when in the committee?" the California Republican asked.

Pelosi's office was not available for comment.

McCarthy told reporters that he has made it clear to the members of his caucus that they should wear masks on Capitol Hill.

"I think they all should wear masks," he said. "I made it [clear] long before Louie Gohmert was tested."

Pelosi, the leader of the Democrat-controlled House announced Wednesday, after Gohmert's positive test was revealed, that everyone would be required to wear masks in the halls of that chamber.