Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters Attorney General Merrick Garland tested positive for Covid on Wednesday, hours after he spoke in person at a news conference with FBI Director Christopher Wray and other senior Biden government officials. Garland, who has no symptoms, asked to be tested for the virus after learning he may have been exposed, the Justice Department said in a statement. He is fully vaccinated and fortified against Covid and will work from home while being isolated for five days, the Justice Department said. The attorney general is not considered to have close contact with President Joe Biden, a Justice Department official told CNBC. Their previous meeting was a week earlier at an open-air signing ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, the official said. Garland at the weekend reportedly attended a white-collar dinner attended by hundreds of politicians and journalists, a growing number of whom have since tested positive for Covid. Another attendee, Commerce Minister Gina Raimondo, tested positive earlier Wednesday. Representative Joaquin Castro from Texas and Adam Siff from California, who was also at the dinner, released their own Covid test results on Tuesday. US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco speaks during a press conference at the US Department of Justice on April 6, 2022 in Washington, DC. US Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images The Gridiron Club and Foundation hosted more than 600 political elites and media personalities gathered at the four-star Renaissance Hotel in downtown DC. The traditional event features high-profile figures – including US presidents – making political jokes, usually addressed to other lawmakers and the press. An annual event held in various forms for more than a century, the Gridiron dinner on Saturday night was the first to take place since the start of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. This is breaking news. Check again for updates. – CNBC’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
