Pelosi Announces Mask-Wearing Mandatory on the House Floor (UPDATED)
Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly told colleagues on a Wednesday call that she will be announcing mandatory mask-wearing on the House floor.
?NEW — @SpeakerPelosi just announced on call with House Democrats that she’ll be announcing a mandatory mask policy for the House floor
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 29, 2020
.@SpeakerPelosi just told House Dems on a call that she's going to announce a mandatory mask policy for the Floor
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) July 29, 2020
Pelosi had already pushed for House committee chairs to require member to wear masks at hearings.
UPDATE — 7:09 pm ET: Pelosi made the announcement official earlier tonight.
.@SpeakerPelosi: "Members and staff will be required to wear masks at all times in the Hall of the House except that members may remove their masks temporarily when recognized." pic.twitter.com/EHoVg5r7E6
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 29, 2020
The new move comes on the heels of Louie Gohmert testing positive for the coronavirus after initially planning to travel with the president to Texas today.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram reported earlier about Gohmert testing positive leading to renewed safety concerns at the Capitol:
2) Hundreds of members fly in and out of the Capitol every week. They are in their home state or district. Then fly to Washington. Then go home again. Few groups of people do this amid a pandemic. But yet, this is the way Congress rolls.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 29, 2020
4) Ironically, here are the groups of people who are in the Capitol the most: maintenance and custodial staff, U.S. Capitol Police and journalists. Some lawmakers, aides and others remain apoplectic at lawmakers who refuse to wear masks around the Capitol complex.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 29, 2020
6) “This is not mostly about protecting members of Congress," said Alexander. “Bringing 100 or 535 members from across the country to Washington, DC, a coronavirus hotspot, and then sending them home each weekend, creates a highly efficient virus spreading machine.”
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 29, 2020
8) Many lawmakers don’t even come to the Capitol itself until it is time to vote. The Capitol usually swims with interns in the summertime. Few if any are here at all.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 29, 2020
10) House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), the top GOPer on the House Administration Committee (which deals with Congressional operations), have advocated for a testing program on Capitol Hill.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 29, 2020
12) There were grave concerns about how the Capitol would handle services for the late John Lewis to lie in state in the Rotunda. Bringing the public into the building was quickly ruled out – even though some small groups of friends, family and other dignitaries were admitted.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 29, 2020
14) Fox is told to expect conversations about safety precautions at the Capitol. Some aides and even members are starting to sound the alarm bells behind closed doors.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 29, 2020
