Trump national security adviser tests positive for COVID-19

Less than a year after being named the administration’s fourth national security advisor, Robert O’Brien has contracted the deadly coronavirus

Biba Adams

Jul 27, 2020

Robert O’Brien, the U.S. national security adviser, has tested positive for COVID-19.

The diagnosis makes O’Brien the highest-ranking Trump administration official to test positive for the highly-transmissible virus that has infected more than 4 million Americans and killed nearly 150,000.

According to CNN, O’Brien had recently returned from Europe where he and his top deputy met with officials from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy.

In photos released by the National Security Council, O’Brien was photographed last week among international leaders where he did not wear a mask nor did he practice social distancing.

Great to see #UK NSA @marksedwill today. We discussed important bilateral and global topics, including #HongKong, #China, #5G security, and #Iran. The U.S.-UK Special Relationship endures. pic.twitter.com/bYGMfrhIXH
— NSC 45 Archived (@WHNSC45) July 16, 2020

However, Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg News broke the story stating that her source told her that O’Brien contracted the virus at a family function.

Scoop: Robert O’Brien has been diagnosed with covid-19. He apparently contracted the coronavirus at a family event. He's been isolating at home but still doing work remotely, I'm told.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) July 27, 2020

O’Brien was named the administration’s fourth national security adviser after the departure of John Bolton in September 2019. He has not been active in the management of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. That responsibility has largely been handled by his deputy, Matthew Pottinger.

However, he told CNN that he first briefed President Donald Trump about the threat that the virus posed to the country on January 23. O’Brien has rarely appeared publicly remarking on the virus. The news outlet stated that a source called him, “the least influential national security adviser ever.”

It is unclear when was the last time that O’Brien met in person with the president. The two were photographed together in Miami on July 10, prior to O’Brien’s European trip.

National Security Council staffers told CNN that they were not informed when their boss tested positive for the virus, but instead, learned of his diagnosis from the media. O’Brien “has mild symptoms and has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off-site,” the White House said in a statement. “There is no risk of exposure to the president or the vice president.”

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