Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) tested positive for coronavirus just before he was to board Air Force One to travel with President Donald Trump to Texas for a high-dollar fundraiser.
“Rep. Gohmert returned to his Capitol Hill office,” ABC News’ Katherine Faulders reports, and “told staff he wanted to inform them *in person* instead of finding out from news reports. Some staffers were already in the process of leaving as Gohmert came back, I’m told.”
The 8-term Texas lawmaker was very close to Attorney General Bill Barr on Tuesday. Both men spoke at arms’ length and both were not wearing masks. Barr is to be tested for the virus.
Gohmert was in the same room on Tuesday as Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY). Nadler is frequently seen wearing an N95 mask, which protects the wearer as well as those nearby. The Chairman’s wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December.
Nadler just wished Gohmert a “speedy recovery.” CNN’s Jeremy Herb notes the Chairman was forced to admonish three Republican congressman just yesterday for refusing to wear masks during the hearing.
Gohmert, who is 66, is a science-denying far right religious conservative reportedly refuses to obey social distancing rules and frequently is without a mask.
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