GOP lawmakers slam House’s restoration of mask mandate [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Republican lawmakers criticized the re-enforcement of the mask mandate at the House floor on Wednesday.
• GOP Rep. Chip Roy (TX.) attempted to adjourn the House but lost by a 225-197 vote.
• GOP and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA.) said that the revival of the mandate does not follow science.

Following the reinstated mask mandate in the House, Republican legislators slammed the policy on Wednesday and rejected wearing face masks, while Rep. Chip Roy (TX.) led a motion in an attempt to adjourn the House.

“I can’t execute my constitutional duty unless I wear a mask. Well, which is it? Vaccines or masks? The vaccines work or they don’t work. Do the masks work, or they don’t work?” Roy said at the House floor Wednesday as he referred to White House’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“I’d like to know which it is. I’d like Dr. Fauci to come down and answer a single question about natural immunity.”

In protesting the mandate, several GOP congressional members declined wearing a mask and risked paying a penalty.

In one instance, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO.) even threw back a mask to a staff member after being asked to wear one. Aside from Roy, other GOP representatives who refused to wear masks were Reps. Andy Bigss (AR.), Andrew Clyde (GA.), Burgess Owens (UT.) Matt Gaetz (FL.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA.) and Mary Miller (IL.).

In another move to show their opposition, Roy called a motion to adjourn the House, a move he previously led in February after Democrat lawmakers voted to oust Greene from her committee assignments over her QAnon beliefs.

The motion resulted in a 225-197 vote which failed to postpone the session.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA.) asserted that the restored mask mandate was in contrast with science. In response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.) described McCarthy as a “moron.”

“If she’s so brilliant, can she tell me where the science in the building changes between the House and the Senate? Can she explain to me, when the CDC says only vaccinated people need to wear a mask of hot spots? Can she [explain] to me if D.C. is a hot spot, when it’s clarified by everyone else it’s not with more than 86% of vaccination within here?” McCarthy fired back as he spoke to reporters.

The House’s attending physician moved to reinstall the mask-wearing requirement following the updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that fully-vaccinated individuals should still wear masks in certain events.

Members who decline to wear any face cover would face a fine which would be deducted in their salaries given the rule imposed in January. First offense would amount to $500, and second offense could go as high as $2,500.

Last May, a group of GOP lawmakers, which were technically the same House members, also staged a protest against the mandate by going maskless.

Source: YAHOO News