Judge Amy Coney Barrett tests negative for COVID-19 after Trump contracts virus
Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett tested negative for COVID-19 after spending last weekend with President Trump at the White House, an administration official said Friday.
Trump, who shocked the nation overnight by announcing he and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19, hosted Barrett and her family at the White House last Saturday for the unveiling of her nomination to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, said Barrett has not seen Trump this week and that she has tested negative since the nomination ceremony.
“Judge Barrett is tested daily for COVID-19 — she has tested negative,” Deere said. “She is following CDC guidance and best practices, including social distancing, wearing face coverings, and frequently washes hands.”
Though she’s apparently coronavirus-negative now, Barrett was diagnosed with the virus this summer, three sources familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. The sources said the conservative federal appeals court judge has since recovered.
It’s not yet known when Trump and the first lady caught the virus or from whom, though Hope Hicks, one of the president’s most senior advisers, tested positive Thursday after having spent considerable time with the couple this week.
Photos released by the White House earlier this week showed Barrett, her husband and seven children sitting within six feet of Trump and his wife in the Oval Office ahead of last Saturday’s nomination ceremony in the Rose Garden. No one wore face masks.
Senate confirmation hearings on Barrett’s nomination are set to start Oct. 12.
It was not immediately clear if the COVID-19 scare rocking the White House would impact the timing of the confirmation hearings.
