HUD’s Ben Carson, Trump adviser Bossie test positive for coronavirus
Carson went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center after experiencing symptoms.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and David Bossie, an outside White House adviser, have both tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the latest figures in President Donald Trump’s orbit to contract the virus.
Bossie, a longtime Trump ally who was tapped to lead the effort to contest the presidential election, tested positive Sunday, according to a person familiar with the situation. Bossie did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Carson went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for a test Monday morning after experiencing symptoms, according to a HUD official, who declined to discuss details of the symptoms.
“He is in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery,” HUD Deputy Chief of Staff Coalter Baker said.
The White House has been a Covid hotspot since last month, when Trump was hospitalized.
Carson last Tuesday attended the White House’s election night party, held indoors in the East Room. Other high-ranking Trump officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, were among the hundreds of mostly unmasked guests.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, another attendee, has also tested positive in the days since the party. Bloomberg reported that “at least five other White House officials” have come down with the virus in recent days.
The latest outbreak comes less than two weeks after a handful of top aides to Vice President Mike Pence also contracted the virus.
If the election party turns out to be a super-spreader event for coronavirus, it will be the second one at the White House this fall: A late-September reception to celebrate the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court was traced to dozens of infections.