Republican lawmakers meet Pelosi’s mask mandate for House floor

Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiHouse The Republican Party Steering Committee selects four members for new committee positions. Pelosi Meets Presidents for Surprising Billing, But Tries to Dodge Hillicon Valley: House Panel Questions Tech CEOs During Long-Antitrust Hearing | TikTok will make the code public as it rejects ‘disinformation’ | Intel home panel expands access to foreign disinformation evidence MOREThe new mask requirement (D-Calif.) For the House’s floor had its intended effect Thursday: For once, there was effective universal compliance.

The new requirement came after Rep. Louie GohmertLouis (Louie) Buller GohmertLouisiana republican self-quarantine after Gohmert exposure Gohmert says he will take hydroxychloroquine as COVID-19 treatment Health care overnight: death toll Coronavirus passes 150,000 | Louie Gohmert tests positive for COVID-19 | Mnuchin says negotiators are “very far apart” on aid agreement MORE (R-Texas) tested positive for the coronavirus the day before, shaking lawmakers and staff across the Capitol complex.

Gohmert was among the few House Republicans who had resisted wearing masks despite recommendations from public health experts that facial coatings are an effective way to prevent the spread of viral drops.

Many of those legislators who did not consistently wear masks represent states that are currently coronavirus hot spots, including Texas, Arizona, and Florida.

But on Thursday, every Republican on the House floor had a mask. Plant staff also enforced compliance by telling members to remove the masks that slipped under their noses.

However, a Republican legislator did not fully follow the rules.

In a moment, the Rep. Glenn GrothmanGlenn S. Grothman GOP fractures in masks open Conservative letter from top conservatives to Trump with concerns about fourth coronavirus relief bill Interest rate limits are popular, for good reason MORE (R-Wis.) He was on a phone call, which no one should make while sitting on camera, with his mask under his chin.

A young employee quickly approached Grothman, who initially ignored her. But once an older employee stepped in, Grothman got up and left. Later she returned to the House chamber with her mask on.

Pelosi warned in announcing the new policy from the House floor on Wednesday night that any unmasked legislator or staff member would not be allowed to enter the chamber and would risk being removed by the sergeant-at-arms if he failed to comply.

Some Democrats had called for masks to be required on the House floor weeks ago, long before Gohmert was positive for COVID-19. But they said it’s better late than never.

“One would have hoped that this had been done as a matter of common decency, but obviously we needed a rule,” said the representative. Jamie RaskinJamin (Jamie) Ben Raskin Five Comments to Bring as the Panel Questions Tech CEOs Lawmakers face off at a technology antitrust hearing: “Put on the mask!” Democrats warn of new US human rights priorities MORE (D-Md.) “I am very happy that the President did what he did. Sorry, she had to. “

“It is a scandalous situation when it comes to members getting sick and potentially exposing everyone else,” Raskin added. “Everyone is nervous.”

As recently as Tuesday, Gohmert participated in multiple committee hearings on Capitol Hill, sometimes without a mask. He has sometimes worn a face covering in the past few weeks, but he has also occasionally mixed with fellow Republicans on the House floor without one.

The mask requirement, which went into effect officially Thursday morning, applies to both the floor of the home and the surrounding office buildings. A memorandum to lawmakers and staff from Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving and Capitol Hill doctor Brian Monahan said that anyone without a mask “will be asked to cover their face or leave the building.”

However, legislators do not have to wear masks while being recognized as speaking on the floor of the House or on committees.

Pelosi previously began requiring masks at committee meetings in June. That directive came after another Republican lawmaker looked around the Capitol without a mask: the representative. Tom RiceHugh (Tom) Thompson RicePelosi will require masks on the floor of the house Multiple legislators undergo quarantine after exposure to Gohmert Gohmert tests positive for COVID-19 MORE (SC): positive result for coronavirus.

The chairs of the Democratic House committees failed to compel the unmasked members to leave the hearings. But some presidents have instituted policies to refuse to allow time to speak to any member who does not wear a mask. However, the House majority whip, James Clyburn (DS.C.), who chairs the select committee on the coronavirus crisis, threatened last month to stop holding in-person hearings if members of the Republican Party followed without wearing masks.

House of Representatives leaders from the House of Representatives emphasized endorsing the use of masks and reviewed safety precautions during a conference meeting with its members on Thursday. Masks were required for the meeting itself.

“I think everyone should wear masks,” House minority leader Kevin McCarthyKevin Owen McCarthyHouse Republican Party Steering Committee selects four members for new Pelosi committee seats to require masks on the floor of the House of Representatives Rooney becomes the first House Republican to use the proxy voting system MORE (R-Calif.) He told reporters.

During the conference meeting, McCarthy also addressed employee complaints that numerous Republican lawmakers, including Gohmert, have been forcing their staff to work in person during the pandemic and reportedly discouraged the use of masks in their Offices.

McCarthy advised its members to contact their staff because they shouldn’t assume they are comfortable working in the office, according to a source in the room.

Rep. Rodney DavisRodney Lee Davis Pelosi will require masks on the floor of the House The House passes legislation to create the Smithsonian Latino museum The House votes to remove Confederate statues from the Capitol MORE (Ill.), The top Republican on the House Administration Committee, also made a presentation at the meeting on the health and safety precautions that the offices of Congress should follow.

Gohmert tested positive for COVID-19 during a screening at the White House on Wednesday morning before a planned trip to Texas with President TrumpDonald John Trump Governor Approval Rates Drop As COVID-19 Cases Rise Gohmert Says He Will Take Hydroxychloroquine As Treatment For Virginia Governor COVID-19, Senators Seek CDC Help With Coronavirus Outbreak In Center immigration detention MORE.

If Gohmert hadn’t been examined at the White House, he likely would have spent another day on Capitol Hill carrying the virus without showing any symptoms and without having been in contact with others.

Pelosi and Majority Leader in the Senate Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Pelosi snuggles up to presidents on surprise billing, but elusive McConnell deal opens door to smaller coronavirus relief deal Republican Party seeks ‘Plan B’ as coronavirus talks hit the MORE wall (R-Ky.) He rejected an offer from the White House in May for a similar trial system for Congress because they wanted to direct resources toward front-line workers. But McCarthy, Davis, and others argue that the decision should be reconsidered.

“There is no other place that has this responsibility at this size that is managed in this way. I don’t understand, ”said McCarthy.

Gohmert’s diagnosis quickly triggered a chain reaction from lawmakers, staff and journalists who rushed to quarantine and get tested.

The number of lawmakers who announced they were quarantined after Gohmert’s exposure this week continued to grow on Thursday. At this point, at least four of Gohmert’s colleagues isolate themselves: representatives. Kay GrangerNorvell (Kay) Kay GrangerLouisiana Republican self-quarantine after exposure to Gohmert House passes two childcare bills aimed at the Pelosi pandemic to require masks on the house floor MORE (R-Texas), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Mike JohnsonJames (Mike) Michael Johnson Louisiana Republican Self-Quarantine after Gohmert Pelosi exposure will demand masks on the floor of the House of Representatives Multiple lawmakers self-quarantine after Gohmert exposure MORE (R-La.) And Jody didHiceGOP’s Jody Brownlow Gohmert introduces a resolution that would ban Republicans from the Democratic Party House from urging the White House to support the TSA in monitoring travelers’ temperatures. (R-Ga.)

Granger sat next to Gohmert on a flight from his home state on Sunday, while Johnson dined with Gohmert on Monday. Grijalva, meanwhile, chaired a House Natural Resources Committee hearing attended by Gohmert on Tuesday about police handling the protesters’ park in Lafayette Square last month.

In addition, Gohmert briefly contacted the Attorney General William BarrBill Barr Pelosi to demand masks in the House of Representatives Multiple lawmakers quarantine after exposure to Gohmert Hoyer: Republicans without masks are a threat to public health MORE Tuesday outside the room where Barr gave testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee. The two were seen in a hallway of Congress without masks.

A Justice Department spokesman confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday that Barr would be screened for coronavirus the same day. Testing a subject the day after exposure to COVID-19 increases the probability of a false negative.

Representative Andy Biggs (Republican of Arizona), president of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was one of the lawmakers seen on the floor in recent weeks without a mask. But on Thursday, Biggs wore a mask stamped with his state flag, maintaining that he had worn it from time to time.

“I don’t think any of us has denied that it’s real,” Biggs said of the coronavirus.

Juliegrace Brufke contributed.