U.S. Senator Johnson quarantined after COVID-19 contact

[September 18, 2020]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who was due to join President Donald Trump in Wisconsin on Thursday, has instead entered quarantine after being exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said in a statement.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) at Senate committee hearing on August 6, 2020 in Washington D.C. Toni Sandys/Pool via REUTERS

Johnson, 65, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has tested negative for COVID-19 and is experiencing no symptoms but will remain in quarantine until Sept. 29, the statement said. He was due to travel with Trump and join the president at a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin.

Since coming into contact with the coronavirus on Monday, Johnson has chaired a committee meeting and joined other lawmakers for roll-call votes on the floor of the Senate.

On Wednesday, Johnson's committee voted to move forward with subpoenas and depositions of dozens of Obama-era officials as part of an inquiry that Democrats say is intended to boost Trump's re-election campaign. The panel is investigating a former federal probe into allegations that Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.

Johnson this week also defended a separate inquiry by his panel into Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, by objecting to an effort to shut it down by Democrats who allege the investigation is spreading Russian disinformation about the Bidens. The committee is due to issue a report soon on Hunter Biden's work for a Ukrainian energy company.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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