UPDATED 7/5/23, 2:15pm ET: Lab testing for the "white, powdery substance" found in the White House has tested positive for cocaine, a spokesperson for the Secret Service has confirmed, per CNN.
The investigation into how the cocaine was brought into the building is ongoing. It was discovered near the ground floor entrance to the West Wing, which is where staff-led tours through the White House typically pass through.
See original story below.
The White House was briefly evacuated on Sunday after the secret service found a “small amount” of a “white, powdery substance” in the West Wing, NBC News reports.
President Joe Biden was at Camp David during the evacuation.
"On Sunday evening, the White House complex went into a precautionary closure as officers from the Secret Service Uniformed Division investigated an unknown item found inside a work area," Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said in a statement.
The substance, which the secret service has determined was "non-hazardous," tested positive for cocaine on a "preliminary field test."
"The DC Fire Department was called to evaluate and quickly determined the item to be non-hazardous," Guglielmi added. "The item was sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner of how it entered the White House is pending."
CBS News reported that a source close to the situation confirmed the substance was found in a "cubby" located in a "storage facility" of the West Wing, which houses the Oval Office. The source said the cubbies are routinely used by White House staff and other guests to store their belongings.
The White House has yet to comment on the news.
