Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin tests positive for Covid while in D.C. to meet Biden

Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin tested positive for Covid on Wednesday night and had to leave the Ireland Funds Gala event, where he was photographed sitting maskless beside Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Few could be seen wearing face masks at Thursday night’s gathering at the National Building Museum, where President Joe Biden delivered remarks onstage for roughly 15 minutes. He left the event after his speech. Pelosi, who appeared to be having a conversation at the dinner table with Martin, is second in line behind Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential line of succession.

Pelosi’s office and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on where Martin was seated, and how this might affect testing protocols and Thursday’s schedule for both the president and House speaker, who both had packed schedules for St. Patrick’s Day.

Martin is in Washington for holiday celebrations and was scheduled to meet with Biden on Thursday at the White House. Martin and Biden were then supposed to deliver remarks at the Annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon at the Capitol. Thursday night, he and his wife, Mary Martin, were scheduled to join Biden and first lady Jill Biden for a shamrock presentation at the White House.

The White House announced on Tuesday that second gentleman Doug Emhoff had tested positive for Covid — the first known case of the virus in the first and second families since they took office in January 2021 — which kept Vice President Kamala Harris from attending an event with Biden on Tuesday evening.

Both Biden and Harris have avoided testing positive for Covid so far, even after multiple exposures during the surge of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.