James Clyburn, the majority whip of the House of Representatives, announced Wednesday that he tested positive for COVID-19.
“Tonight, I received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis,” the 81-year-old Democrat from South Carolina tweeted. “This is a breakthrough case, and I am asymptomatic. America is in a new phase of this pandemic. No one is immune. I urge anyone who has not done so to protect themselves by getting vaccinated and boosted.”
Clyburn is the third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives. He previously held the post from 2007 to 2011 and served as the assistant Democratic leader from 2011 to 2019.
Tonight, I received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. This is a breakthrough case, and I am asymptomatic.
— James E. Clyburn (@WhipClyburn) December 23, 2021
America is in a new phase of this pandemic. No one is immune.
I urge anyone who has not done so to protect themselves by getting vaccinated and boosted.https://t.co/qWzFOT5BC6
Clyburn has represented South Carolina since 1993.
Clyburn said he tested negative for COVID-19 last week before President Joe Biden visited South Carolina State University.
>> Sen. Elizabeth Warren tests positive for COVID-19
“On Sunday, my entire family took at-home tests as a precaution prior to my granddaughter’s wedding, which took place today,” Clyburn said in a statement.
When the home test was inconclusive, he quarantined and took another test Monday, according to The Associated Press.
Clyburn said it took 56 hours to get results.
>> Sen. Cory Booker tests positive for COVID-19
Two senators and another House lawmaker said recently they have tested positive for COVID-19 after having been vaccinated: U.S. Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
The son of a reverend and a beauty shop operator, Clyburn wanted to pursue a career in public service but was warned by his teachers that such a position was “not the place for a Black boy from the South,” according to his 2014 autobiography, “Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black.”
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