EPA Administrator Andrew WheelerAndrew WheelerHillicon Valley: GOP chairman says defense bill leaves out Section 230 repeal | Senate panel advances FCC nominee | Krebs says threats to election officials ‘undermining democracy’ OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Westerman tapped as top Republican on House Natural Resources Committee | McMorris Rodgers wins race for top GOP spot on Energy and Commerce | EPA joins conservative social network Parler EPA chief quarantining after exposure to someone who later tested positive for COVID-19 MORE will quarantine after he was exposed to someone who later tested positive for COVID-19.
“Earlier today I was informed I experienced secondary exposure from an individual who tested positive for COVID-19. After consulting my doctor and out of an abundance of caution, I will quarantine until I’ve gone through the proper testing protocols,” Wheeler said in a statement.
EPA spokesperson James Hewitt told The Hill in a follow-up email that Wheeler “was exposed to an individual who at the time of exposure had not yet tested positive, was wearing a mask, and was/still is asymptomatic.”
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The country’s top environmental official was previously slated to speak at the Nixon Library this week for the opening of a new environmental exhibit, but said he will now participate virtually.
“I look forward to carrying out agency business as usual,” he said.
Wheeler’s quarantine doesn’t mean he has the coronavirus, but other high profile Trump officials have tested positive for COVID-19.
Among them are President TrumpDonald John TrumpFederal watchdog accuses VOA parent company of wrongdoing under Trump appointee Lawsuit alleges 200K Georgia voters were wrongly purged from registration list Ivanka Trump gives deposition in lawsuit alleging misuse of inauguration funds MORE himself, White House chief of staff Mark MeadowsMark Randall MeadowsDespite veto threat, Congress presses ahead on defense bill EPA chief quarantining after exposure to someone who later tested positive for COVID-19 The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Mastercard – Barr splits with Trump on election; pardon controversy MORE, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, and Housing and Urban Development secretary Ben CarsonBenjamin (Ben) Solomon CarsonEPA chief quarantining after exposure to someone who later tested positive for COVID-19 Voters elected a record number of Black women to Congress this year — none were Republican Ben Carson says he’s ‘out of the woods’ after being ‘extremely sick’ with COVID-19 MORE.
More than 270,000 Americans have been killed by the coronavirus.
Updated at 5:11 p.m.