Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is fully vaccinated, testified positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning and was experiencing mild symptoms, according to a department spokesperson.
Marsha Espinosa, the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, said Mayorkas tested positive “after taking a test as part of routine pre-travel protocols.”
The test was conducted ahead of a trip Mayorkas planned to take Tuesday to Colombia with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to Espinosa.
“Secretary Mayorkas is experiencing only mild congestion; he is fully vaccinated and will isolate and work at home per CDC protocols and medical advice. Contact tracing is underway,” she said in a statement.
Mayorkas also was slated to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday for a hearing titled “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.” It’s unclear whether that hearing will be postponed or conducted virtually.
Mayorkas is the latest public figure in Washington to announce a mild or asymptomatic case of COVID-19. Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who is also fully vaccinated, announced earlier this month he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was asymptomatic.
[Justice Brett Kavanaugh tests positive for COVID-19]
Several fully vaccinated lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who is running for Senate, have also disclosed they tested positive for COVID-19.
On Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell died of complications from COVID-19. He was fully vaccinated, his assistant said.
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