It’s a sweltering and stormy Thursday afternoon in June, but the marble halls of the U.S. Capitol are eerily cold and quiet.
The coronavirus pandemic has virtually emptied out the grand building, shutting down Capitol tours and confining politicians and staffers to their homes.
A few security guards in black COVID masks, practically whispering so their voices don’t echo, have the main floor to themselves.
But three stories up, in an elegant cream-and-gold office overlooking the Washington Monument,
Nancy Pelosi is still toiling away at her desk.
The 80-year-old Speaker of the House,
who would normally be out campaigning and fundraising during a congressional recess, is here alone, apart from a handful of staffers, essentially running the country via Zoom.