WASHINGTON — A senior communications aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who had already been vaccinated has tested positive for Covid-19 after being in contact with members of the Texas Legislature last week, Drew Hammill, a spokesman for the California Democrat, confirmed Tuesday.
The staff member “has had no contact with the speaker since exposure,” Hammill said. Additionally, the entire press office was working remotely Tuesday, with the exception of those who had no exposure to the infected aide or have had a recent negative test.
Axios was first to report the aide’s infection.
The Texas delegation fled en masse to Washington on July 12 to try to block passage of a restrictive state GOP voting bill, aiming to stay away until the special session called by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ends.
On Monday, a sixth member of the Texas delegation in Washington, D.C., tested positive for Covid-19, a spokesperson for the lawmakers told NBC News.
Cara Santucci, the spokeswoman for the Texas House Democrats, confirmed the case and said the undisclosed member is self-isolating.
Santucci had said last week the delegation would provide daily rapid tests for its members and their staffers who are in the nation’s Capitol. But in a statement on Monday, she said the delegation will no longer release a daily Covid case count.