On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris reported on Twitter that she has tested positive for Covid-19. The VP had just returned to Washington, D.C., after a trip to her home state of California on Monday.
“Today I tested positive for COVID-19. I have no symptoms, and I will continue to isolate and follow CDC guidelines. I’m grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted,” Harris tweeted.
The White House reported that Harris had not been in close contact with the president or to first lady Jill Biden. Harris will now isolate and work from the vice president’s residence. She can return to her office in the White House after testing negative for the virus.
“She has not been a close contact to the President or First Lady due to their respective recent travel schedules. She will follow CDC guidelines and the advice of her physicians. The Vice President will return to the White House when she tests negative,” said Kirsten Allen, the vice president’s press secretary.
Although the president and the first lady were not considered close contacts, the White House reports that contact tracing is under way. It is known that some staff members accompanied her to California, including Harris’ deputy chief of staff, Mike Fuchs, and her deputy national security advisor, Phil Gordon. Fuchs is scheduled to leave Harris’ office in May. Gordon replaced another departure from Harris’ office, Nancy McEldowney, at the end of March.
President Biden tested negative for the virus on Monday, according to Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
As of this writing, there was no word on how Harris is being treated for the virus.
“That’s a conversation that she’s having with her physician. I’m not her physician. I’m not privy to those conversations, so I don’t know the answer to that,” said White House Covid-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha.
After being asked if it was only a matter of time until the president tested positive for the virus, Jha said, “I wouldn’t say it’s just a matter of time, but of course, it is possible that the President, like any other American, could get Covid.”
Harris received both doses of the Moderna version of the Covid-19 vaccine. She received her second booster on April 1.
So, Vice President Harris has had four doses of the so-called vaccine and has still tested positive for the virus.
Thus far, it’s been reported that Harris is asymptomatic.
The vice president’s diagnosis, along with the announcements that Democratic senators Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Ron Wyden of Oregon, who also announced on Tuesday that they have tested positive for Covid-19, might delay a few Senate votes for a few days.
For instance, the confirmation of Alvaro Bedoya as chair of the Federal Trade Commission this week could be delayed as both Murphy’s and Wyden’s votes, and possibly even Harris’ potential tie-breaking vote, could be necessary. Lisa Cook is also scheduled to be voted on for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board.
“That is something that members and leaders will work through in Congress,” Psaki told reporters when asked about the situation in the Senate. “We are confident we have the votes to get them confirmed. We’re eager to have them in place. But of course, we need all the people, all members there to do that.”
Earlier this month, Harris was deemed a close contact of her Communications Director Jamal Simmons, after he tested positive for the virus.
The last time Harris and Biden were together at a public event was at the White House Easter Egg Roll on April 18. The vice-president’s husband, Doug Emhoff, was reported to have the virus in March.
At the time, Emhoff reported that he was isolated for 10 days in a room at the Naval Observatory because he didn’t want to risk giving the vice-president the virus.
“Because, imagine not wanting to give — not only my wife, but the vice president of the United States — COVID,'” Emhoff said. “She fortunately did not get it.”
Except, now she has the virus — despite being vaccinated for it no less than four times.
