Inhofe voted against various coronavirus relief packages intended to help Americans at the peak of the pandemic, including the Family Coronavirus Response Act overwhelmingly approved by 90 senators in March 2020, and the American Rescue Plan in March 2021.
The 88-year-old man did not disclose what symptoms he was experiencing. But he suggests he’s in good company, saying other elected representatives in Congress are also struggling with prolonged COVID behind-the-scenes.
“Five or six others had (long-term COVID), but I was the only one who admitted,” Inhofe told the Tulsa World.
At least one Democratic senator, Tim Kaine of Virginia, has spoken openly about his experience with persistent symptoms after contracting COVID-19.
Inhofe’s chief of staff, Luke Holland, announced the senator had a “mild case” of the virus almost exactly a year ago, on the same day Inhofe announced his retirement.
The seat was filled in a special election by Markwayne Mullin, a Republican who has represented Oklahomans in the House.
Inhofe is notorious for labeling climate change a “hoax”. But as COVID-19 began to spread rapidly in the U.S., he urged caution even as he took precautionary measures.
“You know I’ll be the first to say we’re overreacting because that’s the way it is, but we’re not,” Inhofe told the Tulsa World in a March 2020 interview in which he recalled trying to intimidate a New York Times reporter. with a handshake.