Another WH Official Tests Positive For COVID After Attending Trump’s Election Night Event

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 05: A member of the White House cleaning staff sanitizes the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on October 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump, several members of his staf... WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 05: A member of the White House cleaning staff sanitizes the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on October 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump, several members of his staff, and three members of the press corps have recently tested positive for coronavirus. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

White House political director Brian Jack and at least one former Trump adviser who attended President Donald Trump’s election night party at the White House, have tested positive for coronavirus — joining a growing list of others, multiple reports have said.

Two people familiar with Jack’s diagnosis told The New York Times on Wednesday that Jack had tested positive for the virus over the weekend.

In a separate report, Bloomberg News said that former Trump campaign aide Healy Baumgardner who appeared at the event as a guest of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, had also been infected with the virus. 

The two new COVID-19 cases join three other infections reported earlier in the week, after Trump aides and allies attended festivities at the White House on election night, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases that may have stemmed from the event to five so far.

Previously reported cases include, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, housing and urban development secretary, Ben Carson, and Trump campaign adviser, David Bossie, who is leading Trump’s legal crusade to contest election results based on false claims of fraud in several states. 

The indoor gathering took place in the East Room, where hundreds gathered for several hours to watch the election results roll in and few wore masks according to the Times.

The news comes after an earlier White House event that Dr. Anthony Fauci a leading infectious-disease expert, dubbed a “superspreader” event, after President Trump and more than a dozen in attendance of a ceremony nominating now Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court tested positive for the coronavirus following the event.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases likely stemming from the event to five so far. Previously reported cases include, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, housing and urban development secretary, Ben Carson, and Trump campaign adviser, David Bossie

    Has Mitch McConnell zeroed out the OSHA budget?

  2. But it’s still missing McConnell, Graham, Johnson, Cotton, Inhofe, Collins, Romney, Nunes, Jordan etc. etc. etc. and others of their GOP ilk.

  3. Biden may want to just let a hazmat crew clean that place out for a few weeks before moving in.

  4. Have they learned nothing?

    (It’s a rhetorical question.)

  5. Avatar for trnc trnc says:

    Bloomberg News said that former Trump campaign aide Healy Baumgardner who appeared at the event as a guest of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, had also been infected with the virus.

    Odds are that she contracted it on purpose so she wouldn’t have to hang out with Rudy anymore.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

151 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ichthus Avatar for cervantes Avatar for trnc Avatar for teenlaqueefa Avatar for progress Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for exspectator Avatar for moreyampersand Avatar for darrtown Avatar for tribalogical Avatar for tena Avatar for dommyluc Avatar for tsp Avatar for bankerpup Avatar for castor_troy Avatar for tiowally Avatar for maximus Avatar for shemo Avatar for 19tibekius6 Avatar for quickq Avatar for txlawyer Avatar for zenicetus Avatar for Scoutmom Avatar for IBecameACitizenforthis

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: