White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Tests Positive for Coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) addresses reporters during a break in the fourth day of the Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tested positive for Covid-19, a source familiar with the diagnosis told NBC News on Friday.

The news comes as the U.S. has recorded for the third day in a row of more than 100,000 new cases, breaking previous records.

It also comes as President Donald Trump and some of his allies are mounting election-related lawsuits and making baseless claims of voter fraud to fight off the prospect of a Joe Biden presidency. It is not immediately clear when Meadows tested positive.

Trump named Meadows his new chief of staff in March. Meadows, 61, a former North Carolina congressman and onetime leader of the House Freedom Caucus, is a longtime Trump loyalist.

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SOURCE: NBC News, Dartunorro Clark