Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is the first U.S. senator and third member of Congress to test positive for COVID-19, his Twitter account announced Sunday afternoon.
Paul, School of Medicine '88, was asymptomatic at the time of testing and not aware of contact with any infected individuals, but decided to receive testing out of "an abundance of caution," according to the tweet. Last week, Paul threw a wrench in the Senate's attempt to push through a bill that would boost unemployment insurance, food security and Medicaid funding when he proposed his own amendment.
He was one of eight senators to vote against the final version of the bill, and was also the only senator to vote against an $8 billion spending package passed earlier in March.
"He expects to be back in the Senate after his quarantine period ends and will continue to work for the people of Kentucky at this difficult time," Paul's Twitter account announced. "Ten days ago, our D.C. office began operating remotely, hence virtually no staff has had contact with Senator Rand Paul."
Paul visited Duke in November 2018 to deliver an address focusing on the success of bipartisanship in Congress.
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