At the very least 4 Home Democrats in fast succession have mentioned that they examined optimistic for the coronavirus after a celebration retreat held final week in Philadelphia.
Consultant Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania introduced her optimistic consequence on Monday; Representatives Zoe Lofgren of California and Kim Schrier of Washington introduced on Sunday, and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut on Saturday.
All 4 representatives mentioned that they had been vaccinated and boosted, and had been experiencing solely delicate signs. All 4 attended the Home Democratic Caucus’s retreat in Philadelphia final week, in keeping with an individual in attendance. It was not clear, and troublesome to know, whether or not they had been every uncovered and contaminated on the gathering, or elsewhere.
One other Home Democrat, Consultant Gerry Connolly of Northern Virginia, who mentioned he tested positive for the virus on Friday, was not current on the retreat, the particular person in attendance mentioned.
The retreat was the caucus’s first main in-person occasion in three years. It was supposed to be one thing of a reset for the get together heading into what is anticipated to be a troublesome midterm election season. A lot of the get together’s legislative agenda has been hobbled by dissension between moderates and progressives, sophisticated by the tenuousness of the Democrats’ maintain on the Senate.
On Wednesday, Home Democrats discovered themselves having to chop $15.6 billion in deliberate funding for President Biden’s pandemic response efforts to safe passage of a necessary spending invoice.
The Home handed the measure, with $1.5 trillion in complete spending, late Wednesday evening. Distant voting was allowed, so it was unclear which of members had been bodily current for the vote. Many Democrats then departed for the Philadelphia retreat.
Mr. Biden addressed the gathering in particular person on Friday. Requested at White Home information convention on Monday why he was masked when getting into an occasion earlier within the day, the White Home press secretary, Jen Psaki, mentioned Mr. Biden typically does so if occasion pointers require it, however that she would verify. She added that the president had acquired a adverse virus check consequence on Sunday.
A White Home spokesman, Kevin Munoz, mentioned that not one of the representatives on the retreat had been thought-about shut contacts of the president, and that nothing had modified about his testing cadence.
All members of Congress who had been to attend, in addition to their employees members and households, had been required to submit P.C.R. or fast antigen exams earlier than the occasion, in keeping with protocols shared by the communications director for the caucus. Attendees had been additionally required to take fast exams of their lodge rooms on Thursday and Friday mornings, however masks weren’t required. The masks mandate for the Home flooring on the Capitol constructing was dropped in late February, shortly earlier than Mr. Biden’s State of the Union deal with.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, additionally mentioned on Sunday that she had examined optimistic. She didn’t attend the Home Democrats’ retreat.
In all, no less than 100 members of Congress have introduced testing optimistic for the coronavirus for the reason that pandemic started, in keeping with a tally by Ballotpedia, a nonpartisan election info web site.
