House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced Tuesday evening that he tested positive for COVID-19.
The 82-year-old lieutenant to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement he was experiencing ‘mild symptoms,’ though was vaccinated and boosted.
‘In line with CDC guidelines and guidance from the Office of the Attending Physician, I will be working from home this week during my isolation period, and in order to protect the safety of other Members, staff, employees, and visitors to the Capitol, I will utilize proxy voting,’ Hoyer said.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced Tuesday evening that he tested positive for COVID-19
Hoyer said he was experiencing mild syptoms and was vaccinated and boosted
The Maryland Democrat also expressed thanks to the ‘researchers, scientists, and medical experts who worked hard to develop the COVID-19 vaccines and to all the extraordinary public health workers and volunteers in our communities who have tirelessly worked to get shots into arms.’
Hoyer is the 20th member of the House of Representatives to come down with COVID since the beginning of the year.
Four senators have been infected since January 1.
And in December, 11 House members were infected, along with three senators.
Capitol Hill saw a widespread outbreak as the Omicron variant surged – and at one point Washington, D.C. was the country’s epicenter.
Pelosi has continued to allow members to vote by proxy – asking another House member to announce their vote – and has insisted on mask-wearing on the House floor.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has tried to do away with proxy voting, however the Supreme Court ruled against him last week, declining to take up a challenge to the Democrat-controlled House’s pandemic rules.
Hoyer has served in Congress for nearly 41 years, representing a Maryland district that includes suburban Washington, D.C. and the western side of the Chesapeake Bay coast.
