Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is quarantining after being exposed to COVID-19, his office announced Wednesday. It is unclear when or how Pompeo was exposed to the virus. “Secretary Pompeo has been identified as having come into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID,” the department said in a statement. “The Secretary has been tested and is negative.”
Pompeo, along with other White House officials, has flouted his administration’s public health guidelines by continuing to throw massive indoor parties—some of which cost five figures, with taxpayers picking up the tab—while COVID-19 devastates the nation. Pompeo was supposed to host a holiday party on Tuesday, according to Politico, but later pulled out. Out of the 900 guests Pompeo invited to his Tuesday shindig, 70 of them RSVP’d, and fewer than that showed up, The Washington Post reported. While the State Department said they would enforce mask-wearing and social distancing at the party, photos obtained by the Post showed attendees eating and drinking sans masks. The event featured a masked Santa walking around to mingle with guests, according to the Post.
