Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary has tested positive for coronavirus just two days after one of President Donald Trump’s personal valets was also diagnosed, according to several news reports.
Katie Miller is a familiar presence in the West Wing and married to Stephen Miller, Trump’s speech writer and senior aide on immigration.
Friday’s developments are raising some concerns about the possible spread of COVID-19 at the White House and whether the infection could be circulating among Trump’s inner circle.
Trump confirmed Miller’s diagnosis Friday during a meeting with congressional Republicans at the White House.
“She’s a wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time,” Trump said. “And then all of a the sudden today she tested positive. She hasn’t come into contact with me. She’s spent some time with the vice president.”
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows later said every member of Congress who attended the meeting with Trump on Friday was tested for the virus. He added that new protocols were putting a strong emphasis on mitigating the virus at the White House.
“This is the safest place you can come to,” he told reporters.
Pence’s flight to Iowa was delayed for about an hour Friday on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as officials tried to determine if anyone on the plane had been in contact with Miller, according to several news reports.
About six officials were pulled off Air Force Two as a precaution.
An earlier report by Washington Examiner reporter Rob Crilly that a second Pence aide tested positive Friday was unconfirmed.
Pence’s plane had since landed in Iowa.
Trump said Friday that he was in the Oval Office with the valet on Tuesday, the same day he began exhibiting symptoms, according to a White House correspondent with CBS News Radio.
Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed Friday that a member of Pence’s staff had tested positive and added that policies were in place at the White House to ensure the safety of the president and vice president.
McEnany also did not confirm any other cases on Pence’s staff.
Late Thursday morning, the White House said Trump and Pence tested negative for the coronavirus, adding the valet began exhibiting symptoms Wednesday.
Valets are like personal assistants who perform gopher duties for the president. According to NBC News, the valet works in the West Wing and is part of a team who brings the president his Diet Coke and meals.
Both Trump and Pence have recently come under fire for not wearing protective masks that federal health officials have recommended to prevent the spread of the virus.
Last Tuesday, Pence made the decision to not wear a mask to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota after the facility said it asked him ahead of time to do so. That led to sharp criticism across Washington and elsewhere of whether he set the right example as the leader of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
Earlier this week, Pence admitted that he should have worn one.
“I didn’t think it was necessary, but I should have worn a mask at the Mayo Clinic,” Pence said. He also reiterated that he is tested regularly for the virus but has never tested positive.
In early April, Trump said he would not follow the CDC guidance to wear a face mask in public.
“I just don’t want to wear one myself, it’s a recommendation,” Trump said at the time.
Then on Tuesday, Trump was photographed by reporters not wearing a mask as he toured a Honeywell facility Tuesday in Phoenix.
Before boarding Air Force One to go to the plant, Trump told reporters he would wear a mask "if it was a mask facility." He also said he and his staff have been tested for the coronavirus.
While touring the facility, Trump was seen wearing goggles, CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller tweeted. Bloomberg White House correspondent Justin Sink said Guns N' Roses' "Live and Let Die" played during the tour.
— This is a developing story. Please check back with AJC.com for updates.
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