WASHINGTON – White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who often appears in public attire without a mask, was found with COVID-19, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.
It is not immediately clear when or how you will be infected.
Another key aide in the campaign, Nick Trainer, was also diagnosed with the virus, according to a source.
Meadows, a senior adviser to Trump and a former North Carolina attorney, had often accompanied US President Donald Trump in the tumultuous last days of campaign rallies leading to Tuesday’s presidential election.
Meadows, who was at a White House election night party attended by Trump’s loyal supporters, is the latest official within Trump’s immediate constituency to secure a COVID-19 contract, which has killed more than 236,000 Americans.
Trump has always looked down on the severity of the virus, which has emerged in recent weeks and is ready to continue in the winter. He challenged the public statements of senior health professionals, even after the outbreak of the disease that took the White House in October.
The president was briefly hospitalized after being infected with the virus. His wife and son Barron also were diagnosed with coronavirus in October.
His national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, is also infected with the virus. Another friend of Trump, former Republican president Herman Cain, was killed by a coronavirus in July after attending one of Trump’s meetings.