GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, Judiciary Committee Member, Tests Positive For COVID-19

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said Friday that hed tested positive for COVID-19 , becoming the latest Republican figure to contract the coronavirus and at least the second committee member to do so.

Tillis is one of at least five people who have tested positive for the virus since attending a Saturday event at the White House celebrating the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

The others include President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump , who announced positive tests earlier Friday. Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) .

BREAKING Sen Thom Tillis also tests positive for covid-19, his office says. Tillis is also a member of the Judiciary Committee, was at the White House SCOTUS event Saturday, met with Barrett on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/FMGFWkOiFA

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BREAKING Sen Thom Tillis also tests positive for covid-19, his office says. Tillis is also a member of the Judiciary Committee, was at the White House SCOTUS event Saturday, met with Barrett on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/FMGFWkOiFA
Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) October 3, 2020

Lee, who is also a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Friday that hed started experiencing COVID-19 symptoms on Thursday morning at around the same time he attended a Judiciary Committee hearing where he spoke without wearing a mask.

Most members of the committee attended the Thursday hearing, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Its unclear, however, whether Tillis was present.

In a statement, Tillis said he had no symptoms and was feeling well. He added that hed be self-isolating at home for 10 days and notifying those Ive been in close contact with.

Tillis, who is up for reelection in November, engaged in an in-person debate with his Democratic rival Cal Cunningham on Thursday night. The two men bumped elbows during the event and stood several feet apart.

Cunningham wished Tillis a quick recovery in a tweet and said he too would get tested for the virus after his potential exposure.

3 things to know about the Thom Tillis COVID-19 infection:

-He attended the event for Amy Barrett last weekend (along with Sen. Mike Lee, who also tested positive).

-He has no symptoms.

-He debated Cal Cunningham last night. They bumped elbows and stood this far apart #ncpol pic.twitter.com/I3lJZxUTuk

Andy Specht (@AndySpecht) October 3, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Andy Specht","author_url":"https://twitter.com/AndySpecht","cache_age":86400,"description":"3 things to know about the Thom Tillis COVID-19 infection:-He attended the event for Amy Barrett last weekend (along with Sen. Mike Lee, who also tested positive).-He has no symptoms. -He debated Cal Cunningham last night. 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3 things to know about the Thom Tillis COVID-19 infection:

-He attended the event for Amy Barrett last weekend (along with Sen. Mike Lee, who also tested positive).

-He has no symptoms.

-He debated Cal Cunningham last night. They bumped elbows and stood this far apart #ncpol pic.twitter.com/I3lJZxUTuk
Andy Specht (@AndySpecht) October 3, 2020

Tilliss and Lees positive COVID-19 results add further complications to Barretts Supreme Court confirmation hearing, which was scheduled to begin in 10 days.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said Friday morning that it was premature ... to commit to a hearing schedule when the full extent of lawmakers exposure to COVID-19 is unknown.

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