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WASHINGTON — A growing number of people in and around the White House — including President Trump himself — have tested positive for the coronavirus.
More than a dozen people in the president’s orbit have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since Thursday, Oct. 1, when news broke that Trump’s close aide Hope Hicks had caught the deadly bug.
On Monday, Oct. 5, three more West Wing staffers tested positive for the virus, including press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, plunging the White House and Trump re-election campaign into uncertainty with just 29 days until the presidential election.
Here’s a list of the lawmakers, White House staff and other Trump associates who we know have been diagnosed so far:
Hope Hicks, White House senior counselor
Counselor to President Donald Trump Hope HicksJIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Hicks, 31, began feeling unwell after attending Trump’s Minnesota rally on Sept. 30 and isolated herself on Air Force One on the way back to Washington, according to reports.
Her diagnosis was confirmed a day later and the White House moved that afternoon to pull certain staffers off Marine One just as it was about to take off for a fundraiser at Trump’s golf resort in Bedminster, NJ.
As one of the president’s closest advisers, Hicks travelled extensively with the president in the week before her diagnosis, which was first reported just hours before Trump confirmed he also had COVID-19.
President Trump
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania TrumpMANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
The commander-in-chief announced in the early hours of Friday, Oct. 2 that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19.
Trump, 74, spent three days at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center before returning to the White House on Monday.
It’s unclear where the president might have been exposed, given his extensive travel the week before his diagnosis, but his positive test results came to light just hours after news broke that his close adviser, Hope Hicks, was also infected.
Trump’s doctors are pleased with his progress since he was flown to the Maryland hospital on Friday afternoon with “very concerning” vital signs, according to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
First Lady Melania Trump
The first lady has been in quarantine at the White House residence since Oct 2. She has experienced symptoms of the virus, including a mild cough and headache.
In a tweet Monday, Oct. 5, Melania said she was “feeling good” and would continue to rest at home.
At age 50, the first lady is significantly younger than her husband and has remained at the White House while he was hospitalized.
It’s unclear when Melania contracted the virus, but she did attend the Sept. 26 Rose Garden ceremony where Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee.
Ronna McDaniel, Republican National Committee chair
Ronna McDanielOLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images
McDaniel, 47, announced that she had tested positive for the virus on Oct. 2, just a couple of hours after Trump did.
An RNC spokesperson said that McDaniel was tested after someone in her family contracted the illness. Her diagnosis was confirmed two days prior, on Sept. 30.
The chairwoman has been at her home in Michigan since Saturday, Sept. 26, the chairperson said.
Kellyanne Conway, ex-White House counselor
Kellyanne Conway with US Attorney General William BarrOLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images
The former White House counselor announced in a tweet on Oct. 2 that she had tested positive for the virus.
Conway, 53, told supporters that she only had a light cough and was otherwise feeling fine. On Sunday, Oct. 4, Conway’s teen daughter announced on TikTok that she also had COVID-19.
Conway attended the Rose Garden event and the debate between Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in Ohio.
A West Wing fixture, Conway left the White House at the end of August to spend more time with her family.
Bill Stepien, Trump 2020 campaign manager
Campaign manager Bill StepienSAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Trump’s new campaign manager Bill Stepien contracted the virus on Oct. 2 and was said to be also experiencing flu-like symptoms, according to a report.
The 42-year-old became the fourth person on the White House’s debate prep team to test positive for the virus and had travelled with the president to Cleveland, for the show-down with Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Politico reported.
Stepien will continue working remotely while in isolation but his diagnosis serves as another blow to the campaign which has been grounded and forced to become entirely virtual in the wake of Trump’s hospitalization.
He replaced Brad Parscale as Trump’s campaign manager in July.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)KEN CEDENO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The Republican lawmaker revealed on Oct. 2 that he tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the SCOTUS Rose Garden ceremony.
A maskless Lee, 49, was filmed rubbing elbows with other attendees and hugging guests at the event.
In a tweet, Lee, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was experiencing “symptoms consistent with longtime allergies” before testing positive for the coronavirus and will spent the next 10 days in isolation.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Senator Thom TillisSTEFANI REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Tillis, 60, said he tested positive for the virus on Oct. 2.
The senator from North Carolina said he was self-isolating at home and had experienced only mild symptoms.
Like Lee, he was at the Rose Garden event for Barrett’s nomination announcement. He is also a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame University president
University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. JenkinsRobert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP, File
Notre Dame University announced in an email to students and staff on Oct. 2 that Jenkins had contracted COVID-19, according to reports.
The reverend, 66, was at the Rose Garden ceremony for Barrett, who is a graduate of Notre Dame’s law school and a professor there for several years before she became a federal judge.
His symptoms were said to be mild.
Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor
Former New Jersey Governor Chris ChristieJoshua Roberts/Getty Images
Christie — one of Trump’s closest outside advisers — helped the president prep for his first debate with Joe Biden, before testing positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 3.
While he was only experiencing mild symptoms, the ex-New Jersey governor checked himself into hospital later that day for additional medical care because he has a history of asthma, he said on Twitter.
The 2016 presidential candidate played Biden in Trump’s debate prep and was also at the Rose Garden ceremony for Barrett’s nomination.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Sen. Ron JohnsonShawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images
The Wisconsin lawmaker tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 3.
Johnson, 65, said he was exposed to someone with the illness on Sept. 14 and tested negative twice as he quarantined for 14 days.
When he returned to Washington on Sept. 29, the lawmaker was exposed to someone with the virus and got tested again, his office said, adding that Johnson would remain in isolation until he is given the all-clear from his doctors.
He was said to be feeling healthy and not experiencing any symptoms.
Nick Luna, assistant to the president
Nick LunaDoug Mills – Pool/Getty Images
The close assistant and body man to Trump, was among a handful of of people in the president’s inner circle to test positive on Oct. 3, according to a report.
Luna is married to Cassidy Dumbauld, an aide of Jared Kushner’s, and his diagnosis has left other White House aides concerned, according to Bloomberg.
He was one of many people who travelled with Trump as he zig-zagged across the country last week, including to the Ohio debate and a rally in Minnesota.
Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary
Kayleigh McEnanyDrew Angerer/Getty Images
The White House press secretary on Oct. 5 became the latest senior administration official to test positive for COVID-19.
McEnany, 32, continued working in the West Wing over the weekend despite her contact with other infected staffers, describing herself as an “essential worker” and telling reporters she had tested negative on a daily basis.
The mom-of-one said she is not experiencing any symptoms and will continue to work remotely while isolated.
She also attended the Rose Garden ceremony on Sept. 26.
Two of her deputies, White House principal assistant press secretary Chad Gilmartin and Karoline Leavitt, assistant press secretary, also tested positive.
Pastor Greg Laurie, Harvest Christian Fellowship senior pastor
Greg LaurieMatt Masin/The Orange County Register via AP, File
Pastor Greg Laurie announced on Oct. 5 that he had tested positive on Oct. 2 and had been quarantining at home since, with mild symptoms.
He attended the Rose Garden ceremony for Barrett, as well as a Prayer March near the Lincoln Memorial, where Vice President Mike Pence was also present, earlier that day.
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