Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson tested positive for COVID-19.
Carson, 69, was diagnosed with the virus at Walter Reed Walter National Military Medical Center on Monday. He had been experiencing coronavirus symptoms but did not remain in the hospital. His deputy chief of staff told ABC News, the outlet that first reported the diagnosis, that Carson “in good spirits & feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery.”
A HUD spokesperson confirmed Carson’s diagnosis to the Washington Examiner but did not respond to q
The HUD secretary was one of approximately 150 people who were at the White House in the wee hours Wednesday morning to hear President Trump address the nation as votes were being tallied. A number of people who were at the event have now tested positive for the virus. President Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows tested positive for the coronavirus after Election Day, along with at least four other White House aides.
Meadows, a former GOP congressman from North Carolina, traveled extensively with the president in the lead-up to Election Day and on Tuesday accompanied the commander-in-chief to his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. He did not wear a mask for at least part of the visit and he returned to the campaign headquarters a day later again without a mask.
David Bossie, one of Trump’s outside advisers, has also tested positive for the virus, Bloomberg News first reported. Bossie, who was at the White House event as well, is leading the campaign’s legal efforts across battleground states. The campaign has made various claims of voter fraud and election irregularities, which critics have dismissed as lacking sufficient evidence to support them.
This is not the first time the White House has appeared to hold a “super-spreader” event.
Trump himself tested positive for the coronavirus one month ago after the White House hosted a celebratory event honoring the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. First lady Melania Trump and their 14-year-old son Barron also tested positive but have since recovered. A number of other White House officials, staffers, and reporters who cover the White House also contracted the virus.
Two weeks ago, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, tested positive for the coronavirus.
