Republican Lawmakers Defy Mask Mandate In US House Imposed By Pelosi

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2021) Wednesday's session on the US House floor featured several Republican lawmakers with faces exposed in defiance of an order from Speaker Nancy Pelosi that everyone wear masks due the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), risking fines in the process.

Congressman Chip Roy raged over the rule by citing the admission of coronavirus positive migrants crossing the southern border into his home state of Texas.

"While we have thousands of people pouring across our border and Democrats don't do a darn thing about it, heavily infected with COVID-19," Roy said. "We are absolutely sick and tired of it and so are the American people."

As Roy spoke, mask-less Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene looked on. Other mask-less Republicans cited in a report by The Hill included Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Mary Miller and Andrew Clyde, although most Republicans appeared to comply with the latest mandate.

The House first instituted a mask requirement last year, with $500 fines for a first offense and $2,500 for each subsequent violation. However that mandate ended in June when the Capitol physician announced that fully vaccinated lawmakers need not cover their faces.

On Tuesday, the CDC cited the contagious delta coronavirus variant in issuing new guidance urging vaccinated people in areas of the country with high rates of transmission to wear masks when indoors.

The high-transmission designation applied to Washington, DC, and Pelosi responded by imposing a new mask requirement Wednesday morning.