House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, he said in a statement.
Clyburn, D-S.C., said he is asymptomatic. He said that he is fully vaccinated and that he had a booster shot in September.
“America is in a new phase of this pandemic," he said. "No one is immune to this virus. I urge anyone who has not done so to get their vaccines and boosters. It is the best protection against severe disease and possible death."
Clyburn was with President Joe Biden on Friday when Biden traveled to South Carolina to speak to graduates of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, Clyburn's alma mater. Clyburn, who graduated in December 1961, before the school held winter graduation festivities, marched with the students to receive a diploma from Biden, as well.
Clyburn said he tested negative Thursday ahead of Biden's visit. He was tested again Sunday as a precaution ahead of his granddaughter's wedding, and the results were inconclusive, he said. Clyburn quarantined and took another test Monday, the results of which came back Wednesday.
“It is a huge sacrifice to miss my granddaughter’s wedding, but it is an unfortunate reality that is playing out all across this country due to the proliferation of this virus," he said. "We all must do everything we can to keep one another safe and healthy."
Biden tested negative for Covid on Wednesday, the White House told reporters in an email.
It's the third time the president was tested for Covid this week. Biden came into contact with a White House staff member last week who later tested positive, prompting him to be given a more sensitive test Monday after receiving his regular rapid test the day before, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. Biden was wearing a mask when he came in contact with the aide, two people familiar with the matter said.
Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. and Anthony Delgado, D-N.Y., also said separately on Wednesday they have tested positive for Covid, joining a growing number of Congressional lawmakers who have tested positive.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, as well as Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said separately Sunday that they had tested positive for Covid-19 amid a rapidly spreading pandemic wave.
