WASHINGTON • Two Republican senators on the pivotal Senate Judiciary Committee have tested positive for Covid-19 after attending recent White House events announcing United States President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, throwing the future of her confirmation hearings into question.

Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who announced their test results on Friday, are among several people who have tested positive since attending the events. A third senator, Republican Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, was diagnosed with the disease yesterday.

Others include Mr Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien, First Lady Melania Trump, University of Notre Dame president John I. Jenkins and former top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway.

The Sept 26 Rose Garden ceremony for Ms Barrett was unlikely to be a "super spreader" event as it was outdoors. But many top Republicans attended without masks or social distancing, raising concerns that others might have contracted the virus but did not yet know. And someone infected but asymptomatic could have transmitted the virus to others at indoor discussions in the White House.

Leading Republicans said they planned to continue "full steam ahead" to confirm Ms Barrett before Election Day. But Mr Trump's illness, along with the fact that Mr Tillis and Mr Lee sit on the Judiciary Committee, has raised questions about whether the party's ambitious timetable can hold.

Mr Tillis' diagnosis also dealt a blow to Republicans' hopes of retaining control of the Senate, given that he was already facing a difficult re-election battle.

Top Senate Democrats on Friday demanded that Republicans slow their plans for confirming Ms Barrett, saying that if they proceed with hearings without an understanding of the extent of the virus' spread from the Sept 26 events, an "already illegitimate process will become a dangerous one".

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, called on Republicans to delay the confirmation hearings.

"We now have two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who have tested positive for Covid, and there may be more," Mr Schumer said. "It is irresponsible and dangerous to move forward with a hearing, and there is absolutely no good reason to do so."

The confirmation of a sixth conservative-leaning justice to the court would be the culmination of a decades-long conservative project, an effort spearheaded by the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Ms Barrett, 48, tested negative on Friday, a White House official said. Two officials with knowledge of her medical history said that she already had the coronavirus and recovered earlier this year.

Ms Barrett was in close contact with Mr Trump at the White House last weekend. She also worked closely with several White House officials and met dozens of Republican senators on Capitol Hill, including Mr McConnell and Mr Lee.

A video posted on Twitter showed Mr Lee hugging people at the event. He said he had tested negative at the White House the previous Saturday.

It can take several days for someone who has been exposed to the virus to develop symptoms or to test positive. Anyone tested within just a day or two of exposure is likely to receive a negative result even if they are infected.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the Judiciary Committee chairman, said on Friday his panel would begin four days of public hearings on Ms Barrett's nomination on Oct 12 as scheduled. Mr Tillis and Mr Lee said they would isolate themselves for 10 days, which would enable them to emerge in time for the hearings.

In an interview on Friday, Mr McConnell suggested the virus' spread through Republican circles could mean more lawmakers would participate in the hearings virtually.

"This sort of underscores the need to do that," he said.

But Democrats said that virtual hearings on such a consequential matter would be unacceptable.

NYTIMES