House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has tested positive for COVID-19, her spokesperson said Thursday.
“After testing negative this week, Speaker Pelosi received a positive test result for COVID-19 and is currently asymptomatic,” Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said in a Twitter post on Thursday. “The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided.”
“The Speaker will quarantine consistent with CDC guidance, and encourages everyone to get vaccinated, boosted and test regularly,” Hammill added.
In a subsequent statement on social media, Pelosi expressed gratitude for concern over her health and encouraged Americans to get vaccinated.
“I tested positive for COVID and am asymptomatic. Thank you for your many kind wishes,” the tweet, signed with Pelosi’s initials, “NP,” read in part. “I am grateful for them and to be vaccinated. Please get vaccinated and boosted if you haven’t already. COVID is still a public health challenge. Let’s keep up the fight to protect our care.”
Pelosi, 82, stood next to President Joe Biden at an event Wednesday at the White House.
Pelosi was also in attendance at the White House for an event earlier this week with President Biden and former President Barack Obama celebrating the Affordable Care Act.
The White House said that President Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday night and is “not considered a close contact of Speaker Pelosi as defined by the CDC.”
“The President saw Speaker Pelosi at White House events and had brief interactions over the course of the last two days,” the statement from the White House read. “Last night as a part of his regular testing cadence, the President tested negative. He will continue to be tested regularly. The President wishes Speaker Pelosi a speedy recovery.”
The California Democrat is the latest – and highest-ranking – prominent Washington, D.C., figure to test positive for COVID-19 in recent days.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, all announced Wednesday they had tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. All but Clark had attended the Gridiron Dinner, a high-profile D.C. media event. Pelosi was also not in attendance at the dinner.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser also announced Wednesday she tested positive for COVID-19 and will “work at home while following isolation protocols.” She did also not attend the Gridiron Dinner, per her office.
A planned Congressional delegation trip to Asia led by Pelosi set for the House’s two-week Easter recess has been postponed, Hammill said. Her Thursday morning press conference was also called off.
Pelosi is second in the presidential line of succession behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
This is a developing story. Check back later for further updates.
