Trump's national security adviser becomes the closest official to the president yet to catch coronavirus

President Trump and National Security Adviser Robert OBrien.
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien tested positive for coronavirus, Bloomberg reported and an administration official later confirmed to Politico.

O'Brien is the highest ranking White House official and the closest to President Trump known to test positive for the virus. He reportedly came down with the virus after a family event and has been working at home since late last week. He had recently been in Europe, meeting with officials in the U.K., France, Germany, and Italy, CNN notes.

O'Brien, senior National Security Council staff, and other people close to Trump are tested daily for COVID-19. The U.S. has so far seen 4 million of the world's 16 million coronavirus cases and about 149,000 of its nearly 650,000 deaths.

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
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.