The Speaker of the House said early Friday that she received news of the president’s positive COVID-19 test "with great sadness."
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi made the comments in an interview with MSNBC.
"I always pray for the president and his family that they’re safe," Pelosi said. "I continue to do so more intensified. I know that he’ll have the best of care and that’s what we want for everyone in our country."
Pelosi went on to urge the passage of the new HEROES Act and the importance of "testing, tracing, treatment" in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
"This is tragic," she added. "It’s very sad. But it’s also something that again, going into crowds unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen. It’s sad that it did, but nonetheless hopeful that it will be a transition to a saner approach to what this virus is all about."
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If the president were to become incapacitated because of his health, Pelosi is only behind Vice President Mike Pence in the line of succession.
"Let us just all pray for the president’s health," she said in response to a question about being contacted in order to sustain the steadiness of the U.S. government. "Thank God the vice president has tested negatively and the second lady as well. That continuity of government is always in place."
Pelosi herself has been criticized for breaking coronavirus restrictions, as she famously got a haircut against San Francisco Department of Health orders just a few weeks ago.