WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrat Bennie Thompson, chairman of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, said on Tuesday he has contracted COVID-19 but that the panel’s primetime hearing scheduled for Thursday will proceed.
Thompson said on Twitter that he tested positive on Monday and was experiencing mild symptoms. He said he was fully vaccinated and boosted.
The House of Representatives select committee has held a series of hearings looking at the attack by supporters of Republican then-President Donald Trump in a failed effort to prevent Congress from certifying his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
“While Chairman Thompson is disappointed with his COVID diagnosis, he has instructed the select committee to proceed with Thursday evening’s hearing,” the committee said in a statement.
The hearing, which is aimed at reaching a broad U.S. television audience during prime viewing hours, will be the panel’s eighth public session in the past six weeks.
Two White House officials in Trump’s administration – former National Security Council official Matthew Pottinger and former Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews – are expected to testify on Thursday, according to U.S. media. The committee has not confirmed that they will testify or released a witness list.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Will Dunham and Chizu Nomiyama)
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