After testing positive for COVID-19 or being exposed to an infected co-worker, more than 130 Secret Service officers have reportedly been ordered to isolate or quarantine after being tasked with guarding President Trump during a rapid series of campaign rallies prior to the election.
According to The Washington Post, at least 130 Secret Service officers employed in the agency’s Uniformed Division to guard the White House and the vice president’s residence were recently ordered into isolation after testing positive for coronavirus or exposure to an infected coworker. One government official stated that the agency is backtracing to determine whether most of the infections took place during Trump’s campaign rallies or at the White House.
In October, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump along with several White House officials were diagnosed with COVID. Days after an election party at the White House, other administration officials and Trump allies tested positive, including White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, and White House political director Brian Jack.
“The health and safety of our workforce is paramount for the Secret Service and, as such, we continuously assess the requirements necessary to operate during the pandemic and ensure we remain prepared and fully staffed to carry out our critical integrated protective and investigative missions, neither of which has been degraded by the pandemic,” a spokesperson for the Secret Service said in a recent statement.
On Friday, Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, took to Twitter and wrote, “Shame on you, @realDonaldTrump and your family. You put those sworn to protect you at risk with your reckless, dangerous choices. Hope every Secret Service agent and their family members receive the same care you did if they get sick from #covid19.
COMMENTS