President-elect Joe Biden admonished GOP members on Friday who didn’t wear masks, despite the coronavirus pandemic, while hiding during the Capitol riot, The Hill reported.
The president-elect expressed his shock at seeing that Congressional members declined to put on masks when they were in safe rooms during the riot. Biden said that he was “so proud of my congressman right here in the state of Delaware, Lisa Blunt Rochester,” who attempted to hand out masks to other lawmakers during the riot, though some Republicans declined.
“What the hell’s the matter with them? It’s time to grow up,” Biden said.
“Result? At least four members of Congress today, including a cancer survivor, now have Covid-19 who were in those rooms. For God’s sake. Wear a mask if not for yourself. For your loved ones for your country. These are real matters of life and death,” Biden said.
At least four Congressional members tested positive for the virus following the Capitol Hill riots on Jan. 6, The Hill reported. A mob breached the Capitol building after a march became a deadly riot against the certification of the presidential election results.
Democratic New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a cancer survivor, said “Over the past day, a lot of people have asked me how I feel. They are usually referring to my covid-19 diagnosis and my symptoms. I feel like I have a mild cold. But even more than that, I am angry,” according to a Jan. 12 Washington Post op-ed.
“[W]hile we might have been protected from the insurrectionists, we were not safe from the callousness of members of Congress who, having encouraged the sentiments that inspired the riot, now ignored requests to wear masks,” Coleman continued.
Biden said he’ll sign an executive order requiring people to wear masks for 100 days, adding it isn’t “a political issue.” The president-elect said the order would be “for federal workers and federal property, on interstate travel like trains and planes.”
Three of the seven lawmakers who tested positive for the virus said Republicans they were sheltered with didn’t have masks on, according to another Hill report. The House Office of the Attending Physician’s letter to lawmakers called on them to watch their health closely after authorities learned that at least one person who was sheltered with them got COVID-19.
The Biden transition team didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.