Here Are the White House Staff, Top Republicans Who Have Tested Positive for COVID-19
Washington: A growing number of White House staff and senior Republicans have tested positive for COVID-19 since President Donald Trump revealed he had contracted the respiratory disease.
The infections have roiled the presidential campaign, now in its final month, rattled financial markets and slowed the work of Congress, with the Senate vowing to delay any votes now that three members of the Republican majority have tested positive.
Several people who met with the President last week said they had since tested negative, but it can take days for someone who has been exposed to the virus to develop symptoms or to test positive. Below is a list of people close to Trump who have tested positive for coronavirus in recent days:
Hope Hicks
Hope Hicks, a close adviser to the president who often travelled with him on the Air Force One and Marine One presidential aircraft, tested positive for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus on Thursday. The disclosure of her infection, first reported by Bloomberg, set off a wave of news.
Melania Trump
Donald Trump, who had carried out a busy week of campaigning starting with the September 26, 2020, introduction of his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett at a packed White House ceremony, said on Friday that he had his wife, Melania, had tested positive.
Ronna McDaniel
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who has had frequent contact with Trump, said on Friday she tested positive for the virus and was quarantined at home in Michigan.
Also read: Trump Could Only Ignore the Reality of Coronavirus for So Long
Senator Ron Johnson
Ron Johnson, who heads the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, a spokesman said on Saturday.
Senator Thom Tillis
Senator Thom Tillis tested positive for the coronavirus, he said in a statement on Friday. A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tillis positive test results comes after he attended a September 26, 2020, Oval Office meeting with Barrett, who Republicans are seeking to steer onto the Supreme Court.
Senator Mike Lee
Mike Lee, another senator on the Judiciary Committee, also said he tested positive on Friday. He was present at the Oval Office meeting on September 26, 2020.
Bill Stepien
Trump's campaign manager, Bill Stepien, also tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday and will work from home, according to a senior campaign official.
Governor Chris Christie
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said on Saturday that he was checking himself into a hospital as a precautionary measure after testing positive for coronavirus.
Kellyanne Conway
Kellyanne Conway, a former counsellor to Trump, said in a post on Twitter that she had tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. She attended the September 26, 2020, Rose Garden ceremony for Barrett.
Notre Dame president John Jenkins
University of Notre Dame President John Jenkins, who also attended the White House ceremony, said on Friday that he had tested positive.
Nicholas Luna
Assistant to Trump Nicholas Luna, a "body man" who accompanies the president day and night, has tested positive, according to a source familiar with the situation.
(Reuters)
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