Texas Republican Louis Gohmert Becomes Latest Anti-Mask Lawmaker to Test Positive for Covid-19

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) questions Attorney General William Barr who appears before the House Oversight Committee on July 28, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. (Photo: Matt McClain-Pool/Getty Images)

Texas Republican Louis Gohmert Becomes Latest Anti-Mask Lawmaker to Test Positive for Covid-19

The GOP lawmaker was quickly accused of exposing "every single person in yesterday's hearing."

First it was the United Kingdom's Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Then it was Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

Now, according to reports on Wednesday, it is Republican Congressman Louis Gohmert of Texas who has tested positive for Covid-19 after publicly posturing against the use of masks.

As Politico, citing multiple sources familiar with the situation, reports:

Gohmert was scheduled to fly to Texas on Wednesday morning with President Donald Trump and tested positive in a pre-screen at the White House. The eighth-term Republican told CNN last month that he was not wearing a mask because he was being tested regularly for the coronavirus.

Axiosnotes that "Gohmert, a fierce defender of President Trump and member of the House Freedom Caucus, has been walking around the Capitol without a mask and attended Tuesday's hearing with Attorney General Bill Barr."

During Tuesday's hearing, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) had set rules requiring masks be worn except during questioning but was forced to repeatedly urge Republican members to put theirs on.

After the hearing, Brad Parscale, the former campaign manager for President Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign who is now leading its digital strategy, posted a video ridiculing Nadler's effort to get GOP members to wear their masks.

"Less than 24 hrs later" after Parscale's video, lamented healthcare advocate Kendall Brown on Twitter, "Gohmert has tested positive for coronavirus, meaning he exposed every single person in yesterday's hearing."

"Turns out," she added, that "Parscale is just as bad at predicting extremely predictable coronavirus outcomes as he is at being a campaign manager."

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