Report: Vice President Pence Tests Negative For COVID-19 Ahead Of Planned Minnesota Campaign Stop
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Vice President Mike Pence has reportedly tested negative for COVID-19 ahead of his planned campaign stop Monday in Minnesota.
CNN reports that Pence's office says that both he and Second Lady Karen Pence tested negative for the virus Monday morning.
While Pence was scheduled to campaign in Minnesota on Monday, White House officials told CNN that the vice president's plans are "in flux" as he may appear on Capitol Hill for the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
On Sunday, the vice president's staff told reporters that Pence would be in Minnesota on Monday. The vice president, who is also the leader of the administration's coronavirus task force, is on the campaign trail ahead of the Nov. 3 election even though several of his aides have tested positive for COVID-19.
Joe Biden's campaign released a statement Monday ahead of Pence's planned Minnesota visit, saying the administration's handling of the pandemic is indefensible.
"Today, more than 2,300 Minnesotans have died from COVID-19, new cases and hospitalizations are reaching record highs, and nearly 1 million people have filed for unemployment insurance in the last seven months," the statement said. "Most tragic of all: if the President and Vice President had done their jobs — if they had listened to the scientists and been honest with the American people — it wouldn't have been this bad."
Early Monday, Democrats in Washington asked the vice president not to preside over Barrett's confirmation vote in the evening, citing the threat of spreading COVID-19.