After maskless schmoozing, DC elite hit with COVID outbreak

Enlarge / US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg)

A growing number of high-ranking officials, lawmakers, aides, and journalists have tested positive for COVID-19 this week amid an outbreak of the ultratransmissible omicron variant among the elite of Washington, DC.

In the past three days, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Greg Meeks (D-NY), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), and Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) reported positive COVID-19 tests. Two Cabinet members-Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Attorney General Merrick Garland-also reported positive tests, along with Vice President Kamala Harris' communications director, Jamal Simmons, and, President Joe Biden's sister, Valerie Biden Owens. Several staff members for the White House and National Security Council have also tested positive, The Washington Post reports.

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View more storiesOn Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's spokesperson announced that Pelosi, too, was infected. "After testing negative this week, Speaker Pelosi received a positive test result for COVID-19 and is currently asymptomatic. The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided, " spokesperson Drew Hammill tweeted.

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