House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent a Wednesday letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi asking several questions about when the Capitol will reopen due to new CDC guidelines.
The Daily Caller first obtained McCarthy’s letter to Pelosi which focuses on four questions involving new protocols Pelosi put in place due to COVID-19, such as proxy voting, closing the visitors center, limiting in-person committee work, requiring face masks on the House floor. McCarthy also asks when the American people can expect to see the razor-wire and national guardsmen gone from Capitol grounds.
“Nearly a year ago to the day, you made the decision to close the Capitol to visitors and begin implementing new protocols to govern access and movement of the members and staff of the Capitol complex. But since that time, we have learned more about the virus and have made monumental strides in our scientific and technological endeavors,” McCarthy said in the letter.
McCarthy also explains that around 75% of House members have been fully vaccinated or will be by the end of the week and asked if that will change how things run in the Capitol.
“Just this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidelines easing mask and social distancing for the nearly 32 million Americans who are fully vaccinated. And to date, roughly 75 percent of House members have been fully vaccinated, or will be by the end of this week. With this information and more at your disposal and as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, I pose to you the same question I posed a year ago: what is your plan to reopen the People’s House?,” he asked Pelosi.
READ THE LETTER FIRST HERE:
Daily Caller Obtained Lette… by Henry Rodgers
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a news conference about the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Capitol Hill on March 9, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The Four Questions Outlined In McCarthy’s Letter Are:
- “What is the timeline for ending the practice of proxy voting — which you stated was ‘strictly for this period of time that we are affected by this coronavirus’ — and the elongated duration of votes it requires?”
- “When can we expect in-person committee work to return full time and at the appropriate frequency in which the pressing matters at hand demand?”
- “When will visitors to Washington again be permitted to tour their Capitol, view democracy in action from the gallery, and meet with their representatives in House office buildings?” (RELATED: House Republicans Say Pelosi Broke Her Own Rules And Bypassed Metal Detectors, Demand She Be Fined)
- “How will your previously issued decorum guidelines regarding face coverings on the floor change in light of updated CDC requirements and the ongoing practices of the U.S. Senate?” (RELATED: ‘Transparently Security Theater’: Onlookers, Members Of Congress Call Bullsh*t On Capitol Police ‘Security Threat’)
The Daily Caller asked Pelosi’s office about McCarthy’s letter to which they did not immediately respond.