Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie criticized Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s mask requirement Tuesday, saying that it lacked scientific backing and refused to wear a mask on the House floor Tuesday.
“We’ve had enough.” Massie wrote in a tweet. “We are refusing to wear our masks on the floor during this vote in spite of Pelosi’s threat to take $500 from each of us.”
We’ve had enough. We are refusing to wear our masks on the floor during this vote in spite of Pelosi’s threat to take $500 from each of us.
Her rule is not based on science. All you need to know is the mask rule has only ever applied to members when they can be seen on TV !
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 18, 2021
“Her rule is not based on science. All you need to know is the mask rule has only ever applied to members when they can be seen on TV!,” the congressman added. (RELATED: ‘You Don’t Tell Me What To F**king Do!’: Eric Swalwell Rebuffs Marjorie Taylor Greene Aide For Telling Him He Can Ditch His Mask)
Massie and around eight other House Republicans reportedly refused to wear masks on the House floor Tuesday. “I can’t hear you with your mask on,” Massie shouted at an unspecified Democratic Rep. who confronted the group.
Among the R’s I’ve spotted refusing to wear a mask thus far:
—Greene
—Gohmert
—Mary Miller
—Van Duyne
—Gohmert
—Massie
—Norman
—Boebert
—Roy— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) May 18, 2021
Following the reversals in guidance issued Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the White House — that say fully vaccinated people to choose not to wear masks when indoors — a group of over thirty House Republicans, spearheaded by Republican Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs, sent a letter to Pelosi, demanding returning the House to normalcy.
“Speaker Pelosi, In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance released on May 13, 2021 we urge you to immediately return to normal voting procedures and end mandatory mask requirements in the House of Representatives,” the Thursday letter read.
“The United States Congress must serve as a model to show the country we can resume normal life through vaccination. Let’s follow the science and get back to work,” Gibbs’ letter concluded.
Thus far, Pelosi has been adamant on continuing requiring masks on the House floor despite the updated CDC guidance and the mounting pressure from the House Republicans, according to Business Insider.