Pence's flight reportedly held up after staffer tests positive for coronavirus

Vice President Mike Pence
(Image credit: Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images)

After one of President Trump's personal valets tested positive for COVID-19, a staffer for Vice President Mike Pence has reportedly tested positive as well.

Pence's flight to Iowa on Friday was held up for about an hour after a member of his staff tested positive for the coronavirus, Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs reports. CNN has also confirmed the news, reporting that "the person who tested positive was not on the trip, but the concern was other people being in contact with the individual."

See more

CNN reported on Thursday that a member of the U.S. Navy and a personal valet to Trump tested positive for COVID-19. The White House said Trump since tested negative. Trump was reportedly "lava level mad" at his staff after he found out about the valet testing positive, though Trump said he had "very little contact" with the person.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Trump and Pence are now being tested for COVID-19 every day, and the White House said Thursday that "every staff member in close proximity to the president and vice president ... as well as any guests" are being tested daily as well. A staffer for Pence had previously tested positive for COVID-19 in March.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Brendan Morrow

Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.