Biden’s Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is latest cabinet member to test positive for COVID-19

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced that she tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, making her the latest member of President Biden’s orbit to contract the virus. 

Haaland, who represented New Mexico in Congress before being nominated to her cabinet position, said that she is fully vaccinated with two booster shots and is experiencing mild symptoms. 

She last tested negative during a visit to the White House on Monday, but was not in close contact with the president, according to the Interior Department. 

“Secretary Haaland cancelled her West Coast travel upon feeling symptomatic,” the department said. “She is isolating per CDC guidance and working remotely.”

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Haaland hosted a clear energy roundtable in Las Vegas on Tuesday about the Biden administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. 

Two members of the president’s cabinet, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, tested positive for COVID-19 in early April following the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, D.C. 

Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive later in the month, but she hadn’t been in close contact with Biden for several days. 

Other members of the president’s orbit – including Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield, White House Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice, and U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James C. McConville – have also tested positive in recent weeks.