HOUSTON — Former Secretary of State James Baker and wife Susan are recovering from COVID-19 at their Houston home.
They “feel crummy” but have not required hospitalization, according to John B. Williams, James Baker’s senior advisor.
Williams said Susan Baker had symptoms first but still felt well enough to cook her husband pancakes for breakfast on Tuesday.
James Baker’s symptoms soon followed, and tests confirmed they were both positive.
“He’s telling friends that thank goodness, he was only 90 when they got it,” Williams told the New York Times.
Williams says they think they were exposed to the coronavirus last week while visiting family in Wyoming. Some of those relatives have since been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Baker, a Houston native, has served under three presidents. He was secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush from 1989-1992.
Before that, he served as secretary of the treasury for President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1988 and under secretary of commerce for President Gerald Ford in 1975.
He is the honorary chairman of his namesake, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.
