London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

The First Member Of Congress Has Tested Positive For The Coronavirus

Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, and Utah Democrat Ben McAdams have become the first members of Congress to announce they tested positive for COVID-19.

Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Ben McAdams announced Wednesday that they have tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the first members of Congress to do so since the pandemic was declared.

Diaz-Balart, a 58-year-old Republican from Florida, said he began experiencing symptoms on Saturday “including a fever and headache,” according to a statement from his office. He was informed that he tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on Wednesday.

"I want everyone to know that I am feeling much better,” the lawmaker said in the statement. “However, it is important that everyone take this extremely seriously and follow CDC guidelines in order to avoid getting sick and mitigate the spread of this virus. We must continue to work together to emerge stronger as a country during these trying times.”

Later on Wednesday, McAdams announced his diagnosis on Twitter, saying he got tested after developing "a fever, a dry cough and labored breathing."

He added that he continued to work from home under self quarantine.


At the start of the 116th Congress, the average age of House representatives was 57.6 years, and the average age among senators was 62.9 years, according to the Congressional Research Service. Many members are in their seventies and eighties, putting them at the highest risk for the disease.

While the House is currently out on recess with members back home in their districts, the Senate has continued to work in spite of the national recommendation that people not gather in groups of more than 10 people. The House is expected to return as well; both chambers are working on legislation to address the coronavirus.

Although Diaz-Balart and McAdams are the first members of Congress to be diagnosed with the disease, several others have self-quarantined in recent days after contact with someone who has been tested positive. This includes Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Matt Gaetz and Doug Collins, all of whom did so after coming into contact with a person last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference who was diagnosed with the disease. Gaetz and Collins each also met with President Donald Trump following the conference.

Cruz extended his original self-quarantine after learning he had interacted with a second person who tested positive. He concluded his quarantine Tuesday.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a top ally of Trump's, also self-quarantined on Thursday, March 12, after coming into contact with at least two individuals who tested positive for the disease. He announced on Twitter on Sunday night that his test came back negative.

Graham had been at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property the weekend of March 7 with the president as well as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, whose press secretary recently tested positive.

Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley was the first member of Congress to self-quarantine after coming into contact with a person who tested positive who was not at CPAC. Sen. Rick Scott announced last week that he, too, was self-quarantining after being in contact with a member of the Brazilian delegation who tested positive.

“My office was alerted today by the Brazilian Embassy that a member of President Bolsanaro’s delegation tested positive for Coronavirus. On Monday, I met with [Bolsanaro] in Miami, and while I do not believe I interacted with the infected person, that individual was in the same room as me,” Scott said in a statement.

Scott said he had no symptoms and was quarantining out of an abundance of caution.

Rep. Jason Crow, who served as one of the Democratic impeachment managers, announced Tuesday that he was self-quarantining as well after interacting with a constituent who tested positive.

Diaz-Balart is not the first major Florida politician to test positive for the disease — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said last week that he had contracted COVID-19 after meeting with Bolsonaro.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×