Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin will no longer be traveling with President Donald Trump on Thursday after learning that he was exposed to an individual who tested positive for Covid-19, a spokesman for the senator announced.
The exposure took place on Monday and Johnson has since tested negative, but will now quarantine until September 29.
“Sen. Johnson was informed today that he was exposed to someone on Monday who has tested positive for covid-19,” Ben Voelkel, a spokesman for the senator, said in a statement on Thursday. “Sen. Johnson is experiencing no symptoms, but was tested late Wednesday because he was scheduled to travel with the President today. Sen. Johnson tested negative, but he has been placed in quarantine until September 29. Sen. Johnson will not be traveling with the President or attending the event in Mosinee tonight.”
Trump, who has repeatedly downplayed the threat of the virus and said the country is rounding the corner on the pandemic, is slated to host a campaign event in Mosinee, Wisconsin, Thursday evening.
A number of Capitol Hill lawmakers have either tested positive for coronavirus and since recovered or opted to self-quarantine following possible Covid-19 exposure since the beginning of the pandemic.
Earlier this week, Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia announced that she had been informed that she had been in contact with someone who tested positive. Capito said that she subsequently tested negative, but planned to quarantine for 14 days as a precaution.
CNN’s Manu Raju contributed to this report.