Vice President Kamala Harris made a previously unannounced visit to Walter Reed Medical Center Sunday for a “routine doctor’s appointment,” according to Fox News.
The appointment comes just days after Harris met with a group of Texas Democrats who fled the state in order to deny Republican legislators quorum — an attempt to prevent Texas from passing a bevy of bills targeting voter integrity, abortion, the ability of biological males to compete against female athletes, and the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Texas schools.
Three of those Texas Democrats later tested positive for COVID-19.
Harris’ visit to Walter Reed raised speculation that the Vice President required either testing or treatment following her meeting, though White House officials would not comment on the matter and the vice president does not currently appear to be under quarantine.
Harris’ spokesperson, Symone Sanders, told media Sunday that Harris had not been in close enough contact with the Texas Democrats to be in danger of contracting COVID-19. The vice president is also vaccinated against the disease.
“Based on the timeline of these positive tests, it was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined,” Sanders said in a statement to Fox, “adding that Harris and her staff have been fully vaccinated.”
As The Daily Wire reported Saturday, three of the Texas Democrats who fled the state, in order to deny Republicans a successful special legislative session and force the GOP to drop their voter integrity bill, tested positive for COVID-19 — two on Friday night and one on Saturday morning.
“Friday night, a Member of the Texas House Democratic Caucus tested positive for COVID,” the Texas House Democrats said in a statement, per The Daily Wire’s report. “Saturday morning, two additional Members, each of whom are also fully vaccinated, tested positive on a rapid test.”
The Texas Democrats, who have been live-tweeting their experience, beginning with photos from a bus headed toward a private plane that then flew to Washington, D.C., asked the public to respect “the privacy of Members and their personal health,” on Saturday.
The Texas Democrats met with Harris on Tuesday, several days before testing positive. In the meeting, the vice president “praised them for refusing to participate in legitimate democratic processes in their home state, saying, ‘You are doing this in support and defense of some of our nation’s highest ideals.'”
“Along with Harris, the Texas Democrats met with members of Congress including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY),” the New York Daily News reported Sunday. “Schumer and his staff did not meet with the lawmakers who tested positive, according to a statement from the senator quoted by Reuters.”
The Texas Democrats are ‘in touch with public health experts in Texas to provide additional guidance,” according to a statement the group made to Politico. “Our caucus will follow all recommendations from public health experts as we continue our work.”