The White House said Monday that Vice President Kamala Harris received a test for the Chinese coronavirus after meeting with Texas Democrats last week who later tested positive for it.
“First I would say I think the vice president’s office put out that she was tested. And that there is no detection of Covid-19 [Chinese coronavirus],” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during the White House press briefing who asked about the vice president’s health.
Psaki’s assertion about Harris getting tested, however, contradicted a statement from the Vice President’s office on Saturday that there was “no need” for Harris or her staff to get tested.
The vice president’s office did not respond to a request from Breitbart News to confirm that Harris was tested for the virus after meeting with Texas Democrats.
Harris met Tuesday with the group of Texas Democrats who fled the state to block Republicans from passing election security laws. Five of the Texas Democrats who traveled to Washington, D.C., have now tested positive for the virus even though the group says they were fully vaccinated.
The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Breitbart News about Harris and her health — including whether Harris had appeared at any events at the White House or whether the president had been tested for the virus after appearing with Harris on Friday.
Psaki denied that the White House had taken precautions to isolate Harris from President Joe Biden after the event.
“There haven’t been additional precautions taken,” she said.
The White House remains unable to answer many basic questions about the vice president’s health after a senior official told reporters Sunday that Harris went to Walter Reed for what they described as a routine checkup. The White House ignored Breitbart News requests for comment about the time and length of her visit to the hospital.
Psaki defended Harris for traveling to Walter Reed Hospital, describing it as a “routine appointment” that had been scheduled “several weeks” before her meeting with the Texas Democrats. She also ignored a question about whether Texas Democrats should have been more cautious about the virus during their travels.
Harris has not appeared publicly since Friday.
The Vice President’s office did not release any daily guidance for the Vice President’s schedule for Monday, even though she was scheduled to meet with the president for the daily brief. The White House did not respond to a question from Breitbart News about whether the scheduled meeting with Biden actually occurred Monday.
Harris was also noticeably absent for President Biden’s speech on the economy on Monday morning despite appearing at an event with the president on Friday.
On Friday, Harris also appeared with women leaders on voting rights and met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.