Navy Adm. Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo
Michael Gilday, the Navy’s top admiral, will self-quarantine this week despite testing negative for Covid-19 after coming in contact with a family member who tested positive, the Pentagon confirmed on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, tested positive for Covid-19 Saturday afternoon, but a subsequent test the same day was negative.
Lengyel will undergo a third test early Monday “to confirm his negative status,” according to a spokesperson.
Both Gilday and Lengyel were missing on Saturday when President Donald Trump met with top military leaders at the White House.
Bloomberg news reported that Lengyel tested positive at the White House before the meeting. Other top military members, including the Joint Chiefs chairman and the heads of the Army, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard, took part in the White House meeting.
The news that two members of the Joint Chiefs had Covid-19 scares this weekend comes just days after two White House staffers — one of Trump’s personal valets and Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary — tested positive for the virus, raising fears about a possible outbreak in the president’s inner circle.
