Montana Senator Steve Daines was on KGVO’s Montana Morning news show on Tuesday and spoke of several issues, including a possible coronavirus case in his hometown of Bozeman.

Daines first looked back on the recent State of the Union speech in the House chamber with moments he remembered as profound, such as the U.S. Army soldier being reunited with his family, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen and his great grandson who was planning to join the newly established Space Force, and a young child receiving a scholarship to the school of her choice.

But then, he witnessed what happened after the President’s speech.

“I was sitting just a few rows back, and I couldn’t believe it,” said Daines. “I looked up and I watched Nancy Pelosi tear the speech up. I thought that was absolutely shameful. I understand we can have disagreements, but in this moment of optimism, that we came together as a country highlighting war heroes and veterans, and then to just tear that up to me was shameful, and I think she’ll regret that. It reminded me of a toddler having a temper tantrum. I said to myself that ‘I can’t believe what I just saw’. It was the low moment of the night that was filled with high moments.”

Daines then looked ahead to a meeting that was happening later in the day on forest reform.

“I’ll be chairing a forest management round table meeting today here in Washington, D.C. with the U.S. Forest Service chief Vicki Christensen, as well as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior Susan Combs,” he said. “We’ll be discussing some common sense reforms that are needed. One of the issues I want to talk about is litigation. These radical environmental groups that are active in Montana file these lawsuits these important projects and they stop them. There are 12 such active lawsuits in Montana that are delaying important projects, in fact we got terrible news a few weeks ago about RY Timber. They have mills in Townsend and Livingston, and they had to shut down their Townsend mill in part because of this litigation.”

Daines also said he was very close to passing legislation in conjunction with California Democrat Dianne Feinstein.

“This is how you get something done in D.C.,” he said. “A Republican from Montana and a Democrat from California working together. It takes both sides to actually get something done. As you know, California has had some huge wildfires. Senator Feinstein would be the first to tell you about the loss of life they’ve experienced in California when over 80 people died in the town of Paradise during that devastating wildfire.”

Daines also commented on the news that a resident of his hometown of Bozeman was in the hospital with possible coronavirus symptoms.

“When I was in private business I was in China in the 90’s,” he said. “I’ve lived and seen what can happen in what are called ‘wet markets’ in Wuhan, and how these live animals in these markets actually create a situation where these viruses can cross from animals into humans. We’re keeping a close eye on the situation in Bozeman. The patient has the symptoms, but it’s not yet confirmed to be the coronavirus. There was a fever and upper respiratory problems, but they’re taking all the precautions. We’ll know a lot more and have some results by the end of the week.”

Daines applauded the healthcare officials in Bozeman and in Helena for taking a proactive stance on the situation in Gallatin County.