Texas GOP congressman Louie Gohmert, who shunned masks, tests positive for COVID-19

Texas congressman Louie Gohmert tested positive for coronavirus Wednesday morning at the White House, according to media reports.

Gohmert tested positive “in a pre-screen at the White House,” as first reported by Politico. He was reportedly scheduled to travel with President Donald Trump to Texas on Wednesday.

The Washington Post also reported that Gohmert tested positive.

Now the 10th member of Congress to test positive for the coronavirus, Gohmert informed his Capitol Hill staff of his diagnosis after leaving the White House, ABC News reported.

The 66-year-old Republican took office in Texas’ 1st congressional district in 2005. The district includes a portion of northeast Texas.

On Tuesday, Gohmert attended a hearing for Attorney General William Barr and spoke with him while neither was wearing a mask, according to The Hill.

Gohmert told CNN last month he would never wear a face mask unless he got the virus.

“I keep being tested and I don’t have it,” Gohmert told the network in June. “So I’m not afraid of you, but if I get it I’ll wear a mask.”

He falsely said in April a powder made in Germany could kill coronavirus on contact, according to Politifact.

He returned to Congress after potentially being exposed to the virus in March. He said a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention physician cleared him to return to Washington.

“After (a) CDC physician called me Sunday evening, and we discussed all the specific circumstances of which he was aware along with my circumstances, including that I was and am asymptomatic, he said that all things considered, I was cleared to return to Washington,” Gohmert tweeted in March.

This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 10:16 AM.