President Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has told associates he has coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter, adding to the outbreaks connected to the White House.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Meadows learned that he had contracted the virus or whether he had developed symptoms of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.
He informed a close circle of advisers after Tuesday’s election, one of the people said.
A Trump campaign aide, Nick Trainer, is also infected, according to two people familiar with the matter.
He and campaign spokespeople declined to comment.
The U.S. today reported at least 122,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day.
The highest one-day total since the pandemic began.
There have been at least 122,365 new cases of coronavirus COVID-19 cases reported in the U.S. for Friday alone, according to a tally by NBC News.
The figure eclipses yesterday’s previous single-day record of 121,289 cases.
It is now the third day in a row that new reported cases have soared past 100,000 in a single day.
Meadows has remained involved in Trump’s post-election effort to challenge votes in several states where he trails former Vice President Joe Biden, according to one person familiar with the matter.
The people familiar with the matter asked not to be identified because the two cases had not been announced.
More than three dozen people associated with the president or the White House have been infected by the virus, including the president, his wife, Melania, and his youngest son, Barron. Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, and other aides tested positive for the virus late last month, shortly before the election.
Meadows was at Trump’s bedside when the president was hospitalized last month with Covid-19.
Trump’s handling of the pandemic has been rated poorly by most Americans in public opinion surveys, and is seen as a major reason he lost re-election to Joe Biden.
Biden tonight said he is already preparing to assume the presidency.
“I want people to know we’re not waiting to get the work done,” he said late tonight.
Biden said he and his running mate, Kamala Harris, have held briefings on the coronavirus and the economy this week as the U.S. records record daily cases.
He noted nearly 240,000 people have died from the pandemic and said he wants those families to know they aren’t alone.