Five Pence Aides Test Positive for COVID-19; Pence Tests Negative

At least five people in Vice President Mike Pence’s circle have tested positive for COVID-19, including chief of staff Marc Short and senior political advisor Marty Obst. Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence tested negative on Monday. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows refused to comment on the extent of the outbreak on Sunday, telling CNN that “Sharing personal information is not something that we should do.” Senate Democrats asked Pence not to preside over Monday's confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, citing coronavirus concerns. Coverage in right-rated outlets tended to report on Senate Democrats’ request and not on the outbreak itself. Some coverage in left-rated outlets focused on comments by Mark Meadows saying, “We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigations.”