Trump's newest acting White House chief of staff self-quarantines after coronavirus exposure

Mark Meadows.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Retiring Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), President Trump's newest acting White House chief of staff, is the latest Republican to self-quarantine after coming in contact with a coronavirus patient.

Meadows interacted with the person at last month's Conservative Political Action Conference. This person tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus on Saturday night, and is now receiving medical care in New Jersey. Meadows announced on Monday evening he will be quarantined until Wednesday, and this is merely a precautionary measure, as he tested negative for COVID-19.

On Sunday night, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) both announced they had come in contact with the coronavirus patient at CPAC and would spend the rest of the week quarantined in their homes; Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) did the same on Monday afternoon. All of them said they are not showing any symptoms of COVID-19.

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Several of these politicians have spent time with Trump in recent days. Cruz was in the White House last week to discuss immigration with the president, while Collins accompanied Trump to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday. Meadows also attended a White House meeting last week, and Gaetz was with Trump on Air Force One Monday afternoon when the congressman learned he too had interacted with the coronavirus patient at CPAC.

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.