Several People in Vice President Mike Pence’s World Now Have COVID-19

Test Ticker

THE FIRST $500,000

This is a big one: the first time we’re asking for the donations Mother Jones relies on since joining forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting. So in “Less Dreading, More Doing,” we lay it all out for you—why we merged, how we’re stronger together, and why we’re more optimistic than normal about the work ahead. It still won’t be easy. Please help us raise the First $500,000 we need by June 22.

This is big. Mother Jones just merged with the Center for Investigative Reporting, and this is the first time we’re asking for the donations we rely on. So we lay it all out for you in “Less Dreading, More Doing,” and we need to raise the First $500,000 in online donations by June 22. It won’t be easy. Please help if you can.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date. Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

At least five people in Vice President Mike Pence’s inner circle have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a report from CNN. That tally includes some of his closest advisors, including his chief of staff Marc Short and an advisor named Marty Orbst. Yet Pence, the head of the White House’s coronavirus task force, is continuing with in-person campaigning and refusing to quarantine.

Other staffers are concerned more people in Pence’s orbit will get the virus. “They’re scared,” a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

The news comes weeks after President Donald Trump and several members of his White House staff tested positive for the virus, including advisor Hope Hicks and press secretary Kayleigh McElhaney. Trump spent several days in the hospital, and miraculously continues to downplay the severity of the virus. Meanwhile, the virus is surging in many parts of America. On Saturday, there were at least 871 new coronavirus deaths in the United States, and more than 78,000 new cases were reported, according to a tally kept by the New York Times.