Pete Buttigieg becomes 11th person in Biden's Cabinet to test positive for COVID-19
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- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Monday that he had COVID.
- At least 11 members of Biden's Cabinet have now reported they tested positive.
- Biden hasn't had COVID yet but wants to hit the road more.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is the 11th member of President Joe Biden's 24- person Cabinet to report testing positive for COVID-19.
The announcement comes as Politico is reporting that Biden, frustrated by his sagging polling number, is hoping to hit the road more to tout the accomplishments he's reached under his presidency.
But doing so could increase Biden's exposure to the illness. The White House has previously pointed to pandemic concerns when asked why Biden, 79, doesn't travel more often, though they have acknowledged that he may become infected.
The president has been vaccinated and twice boosted, which are factors that reduce the likelihood that he'll need hospitalization or that he'll die from COVID-19.
Still, his age is a risk factor for a more difficult case of the illness. Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID in late April and has since recovered.
Buttigeig announced his positive COVID diagnosis Monday on Twitter, saying he was having only mild symptoms.
—Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) June 6, 2022
He'll be working remotely and staying away from travel during his illness, he said on Twitter. Buttigieg has been Biden's lead messenger for the president's signature bipartisan infrastructure bill, which will fix ailing roads and bridges, fund broadband, and replace lead pipes.
Several members of Biden's Cabinet fell ill in early April after attending the exclusive Gridiron Dinner for journalists. They included Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Despite the superspreader nature of the Gridiron, Biden decided to attend a far more crowded reporter event, the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, a couple of weeks later.
Congressional Democrats, facing the midterm election in five months, have been pushing the White House to model and message more normalcy given that vaccines have become more widely available and that pandemic fatigue has set in with many voters.
Other members of Biden's Cabinet who announced they've tested positive include Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.
Only five leaders from the White House's 15-person executive departments haven't reported testing positive, including Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
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