A White House official and a top communications aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who attended the same event last week tested positive for COVID-19.
The official has mild symptoms, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday. She said there had been additional breakthrough cases among staffers that have not been disclosed publicly but declined to say how many.
Recommended Stories
Both staffers who tested positive this week attended a rooftop reception at a Washington, D.C., hotel, according to Axios, and each had been vaccinated.
“Yesterday, a fully vaccinated White House official tested positive for COVID-19 off campus,” a White House official told the outlet. “We know that there will be breakthrough cases, but as this instance shows, cases in vaccinated individuals are typically mild.”
BIDEN WHITE HOUSE BACKS AWAY FROM FACEBOOK FIGHT — FOR NOW
White House Correspondents’ Association President Steven Portnoy confirmed that a White House aide had tested positive for the virus in an email to reporters.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Pelosi aide had guided a delegation of Democratic Texas lawmakers around the U.S. Capitol last week after the group fled their state to stop the Texas Legislature from proceeding with GOP-backed voting bills. At least six lawmakers have tested positive for the virus since leaving Austin for Washington. The group was pictured maskless aboard private jets leaving their home state.
“Yesterday, a fully-vaccinated senior spokesperson in the Speaker’s press office tested positive for COVID after contact with members of the Texas state legislature last week,” Drew Hammill, deputy chief of staff to Pelosi, told Axios.
Vice President Kamala Harris spent time with the lawmakers. Harris’s office said on Monday that she had tested negative for the virus.
Psaki told reporters the test was conducted as part of a routine medical checkup and not related to the outbreak among the Texas lawmakers.
“I think the vice president’s office put out that she was tested, and there was no detection of COVID-19,” Psaki said. “They also put out some specific details about their proximity to the individuals who tested positive as well. We take these precautions incredibly seriously and abide by the guidance of our help and medical experts.”
Psaki demurred when reporters asked her to comment on the picture of the maskless lawmakers.
“I don’t think I’m going to be in a position here to assess what safety precautions they may or may not have taken,” she said. “Obviously, these individuals were out there trying to elevate the issue of an individual’s right to vote.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“What’s important for everybody to know is that the vice president was tested,” she added. “She, of course, takes these precautions seriously, and we would follow any advice our public health officials give us.”
A spike in coronavirus cases has prompted some parts of the country to reimpose mask mandates. Hospital cases are also rising, largely among those who haven’t been vaccinated.
President Joe Biden has no plans to meet with the Texas Democrats, Psaki said.
