U.S. Sen. Susan Collins tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday after a historic Supreme Court confirmation vote, her office said.
The Maine Republican’s office said she was experiencing “mild symptoms” after testing positive in the late afternoon. Collins will isolate and work remotely in accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Collins was one of many lawmakers in attendance at a dinner held at the exclusive Gridiron Club in Washington, D.C. last weekend, according to The Washington Post. Several attendees, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, tested positive for the virus in the days after the event.
The Maine senator was on the chamber floor to vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson, who will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, on Thursday afternoon. She was wearing a KN95 mask with coldlike symptoms after learning two people she sat with at the Gridiron Club event tested positive, her office said.
The senator voted and then tested positive around 4 p.m. after the Senate had finished voting and adjourned for a two-week recess.
Collins, 69, is the third member of Maine’s congressional delegation to test positive since the start of the pandemic. Independent Sen. Angus King tested positive last August, while Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine’s 2nd District, tested positive last month. Both were fully vaccinated at the time and made full recoveries.
Due to the Senate’s schedule, the Maine senator may not have to miss any votes if she recovers in the standard time period. She has not missed a vote since taking office in 1997.
BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.