Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the coronavirus Friday, following President Donald Trump's announcement that he and first lady Melania Trump had become infected with the virus.
Pence's press secretary Devin O'Malley said that Pence underwent a routine Covid test Friday morning and he and his wife Karen Pence had both tested negative. It is unclear whether or not Pence will quarantine, as is recommended by health experts due to the incubation period of the virus.
Pence has said very little publicly outside of a tweet wishing the first couple a "full and swift recovery."
The last known public contact between Pence and Trump appeared to be an outdoor Rose Garden event on Monday. But at a campaign event in Lititz, Pennsylvania on Tuesday ahead of the presidential debate, Pence told an indoor crowd of supporters that he had spoken with the president in the Oval Office earlier that day.
"It's gonna be a great night. I can tell you, I left the president earlier today in the Oval Office and he's ready," Pence said Tuesday to a large crowd of mostly maskless supporters.
Pence is scheduled to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah on Wednesday for the only vice presidential debate of the election cycle against Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. It is unclear whether the debate can continue as planned.
Although the president has not disclosed experiencing any symptoms, Pence would be tapped if Trump was unable to perform the duties of the presidency.
The 25th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution allows for the president to temporarily hand control of the country over to the vice president if he becomes incapacitated or is unable to fulfill his duties.
President George W. Bush most recently invoked the 25th Amendment in 2007, handing over the presidency temporarily to Vice President Dick Cheney prior to going under anesthesia for a colonoscopy.
In May, Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller tested positive for the coronavirus but the vice president was not infected. Pence was criticized at the time for not quarantining.
