House Democrats Wednesday blocked a GOP resolution that would have ended a requirement that lawmakers wear masks in the chamber and committee rooms.
Democrats tabled a resolution by Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, which would have ordered the Capitol’s attending physician to align the mask rules with new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, cited Capitol physician Brian Monahan in ordering lawmakers to keep wearing masks despite CDC guidance that the fully vaccinated don’t need them, although she has modified the rule to allow mask removal when speaking at the lectern in the chamber.
Republicans and Pelosi have been battling over ending the mask mandate since the CDC guidance was announced on Thursday.
A pack of GOP lawmakers went maskless on the House floor Tuesday, and at least two were fined $500 for the move.
McCarthy, in a statement Wednesday, called on Pelosi to “follow the science” and drop the mask rule and the fines now that most lawmakers are vaccinated.
But Pelosi said every lawmaker and all floor staff must first be vaccinated, and Democrats say the holdouts are all Republicans.
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill Wednesday called McCarthy’s resolution “a sad stunt” to distract from “pure chaos” in the Republican conference.
Pelosi also issued a revised statement from Monahan stating the House chamber and House Committee rooms have “received special medical consideration for continued mask wear,” including “underlying health conditions and age.”
Monahan described the number of unvaccinated lawmakers as “substantial,” although it is fewer than 25% of all members.
McCarthy’s resolution said the mask rule “is not based on the best available science, and contrary to the latest CDC guidance, and is not in line with the protocols in place in the United States Senate and the White House.”
The mask rule “sends the erroneous message that the efficacy of the vaccines cannot be trusted,” the resolution declared.
