Politics

Pete Buttigieg In Quarantine After Staff Member Tests Positive For COVID-19

Photo by Stefani Reynolds - Pool/Getty Images

Anders Hagstrom White House Correspondent
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has gone into quarantine after a member of his staff tested positive for COVID-19, his office announced Monday.

The staff member is an agent on Buttigieg’s security detail and had contact with him on Monday, his chief of staff, Laura Schiller, told ABC News. Buttigieg was confirmed as President Joe Biden’s transportation secretary only on Tuesday. Buttigieg will quarantine for 14 days. (RELATED: House Republicans Say Pelosi Broke Her Own Rules And Bypassed Metal Detectors, Demand She Be Fined)

“Secretary Buttigieg will take all necessary steps to ensure there is no spread, including quarantining for a period of 14 days and will continue to follow all other CDC guidelines,” Schiller said in a statement.

WESTERVILLE, OHIO – OCTOBER 15: South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden shake hands after the Democratic Presidential Debate at Otterbein University on October 15, 2019 in Westerville, Ohio. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The DoT has not identified the individual who tested positive, nor how many officials the agent may have come in contact with. It confirmed that another agent on Buttigieg’s detail is also entering quarantine. (RELATED: General Motors Pledges All-Electric Cars By 2035, Carbon Neutrality By 2040)

Buttigieg is the first member of Biden’s cabinet to be forced to enter quarantine. The news came hours after Republican Texas Rep. Ron Wright died of COVID-19, the first member of Congress to be taken by the disease.

Buttigieg was confirmed as treasury secretary less than a week prior to his quarantine by a vote of 86-13 in the Senate.