WASHINGTON Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert, who steadfastly refused to wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, Politico reported, raising concerns that other members of Congress may also have been exposed.
Attorney General William Barr, who testified to a committee hearing on Tuesday that Gohmert took part in, will be tested for coronavirus as a result, a Justice Department spokesman said.
A U.S. representative from Texas, where coronavirus cases have surged since the state reopened, Gohmert tested positive in a prescreening at the White House, Politico said, citing multiple sources.
Masks, which health experts say help to spread the transmission of the highly contagious virus, have become a symbol of America’s bitter political divide, with some Republicans including Gohmert shunning them after President Donald Trump long refused to wear one in public.
Spokeswomen for Gohmert did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Committee Chairman Representative Jerry Nadler, a Democrat, scolded several Republicans including ranking member Jim Jordan for failing to wear masks.
In a Twitter posting on Wednesday, Nadler wished Gohmert a “full and speedy recovery.”
Democratic House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he would consider having all House members tested as a result of Gohmert’s testing positive.
“Louie Gohmert ought to quarantine himself right now,” House Hoyer told reporters.
Nearly 150,000 people in the United States have died of coronavirus, and almost 4.4 million have tested positive, according to a Reuters tally. Infection rates have begun to soar in recent weeks as states lifted early restrictions on social gatherings and travel intended to slow the virus’ spread.
Several members of Congress have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and all have recovered.
Republican Rand Paul in March became the first senator to contract the disease, and faced criticism for his colleague after spending time walking maskless around the Capitol, even using its gym, while waiting for test results. After recovering, Paul, a physician, also shunned a mask, arguing that he is now immune. Other medical professionals have said it is unclear whether a person can contract COVID-19 a second time.
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