Some House Democrats Signal Willingness to End Pelosi’s Mask Mandate

A coalition of House Democrats are joining with House Republicans to protest Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) mask mandate, which has been mandated for all House members since the start of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

The rule, introduced as House Resolution 38 (H.R. 38), directs the House Sergeant-at-Arms “to impose a $500 fine for a first offense and a $2,500 fine for any subsequent offense against a Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner for failure to wear a mask in contravention of the Speaker’s announced policies of January 4, 2021.”

Pelosi had earlier put the mandate in place for all members, but H.R. 38 cemented the speaker’s diktat as a finable offense; fines are withdrawn from members’ paychecks.
The H.R. 38 mandate was eventually relaxed a bit, but following the rise of the Delta variant of the CCP virus, Pelosi again made the decision to require members of the House to wear a mask inside the Capitol.

Republicans took the opportunity to again criticize Pelosi’s unilateral imposition, leading to a row between the speaker and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).