When asked why not, Gohmert, 66, had an explanation that defied science and the recommendations of leading public health experts.
“I don’t have the coronavirus, it turns out that until yesterday I never had it. But if I do, you will never see me without a mask,” the Texan conservative told CNN on Friday.
When told that health experts say that people who do not have symptoms may be carrying the virus and can unknowingly pass it on to others, Gohmert replied: “But I am still being tested and do not have it. So I am not afraid from you, but if I get it I’ll put on a mask. “
Gohmert, whose state has seen an increase in coronavirus cases, prompting Republican Governor Greg Abbott to order the closing of bars and reduce the restaurant’s capacity, did not respond to a question when asked about the last time it was did the test.
However, there is a sizable group of conservative House Republicans, who, like President Donald Trump, refuse to use them. Vice President Mike Pence, who has been coming and going on his public outings wearing a mask, on Friday failed to urge Americans to wear face covers, instead saying it was a problem that it was better to leave to state officials. and locals to provide guidance to their residents.
“And we will continue to reinforce that message,” Pence said.
Public health experts warn that people can get Covid-19 at any time, even immediately after being tested for the disease. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges everyone to wear a “cloth face cover when they have to go out in public,” noting that the masks are critical “in case the user is unknowingly infected. but have no symptoms. “
“If the result is positive or negative for COVID-19, regardless of the type of test, you still need to take preventative measures to protect yourself and others,” says the CDC website, referring to facial covers as a preventive measure. .
Meanwhile, the University of Washington Institute for Health Assessment and Measurement said this week that if 95% of Americans wore masks in public, it would prevent 33,000 deaths by Oct. 1. And Capitol Hill chief physician Brian Monahan has repeatedly urged lawmakers to wear masks when it is difficult to distance themselves socially, such as on the floor of the home.
Gohmert was speaking at close range with Republican lawmakers, including Representative Barry Loudermilk of Georgia. And Scalise told CNN last month that, while wearing masks on planes, he noted that “it is more difficult” to interact with colleagues while covering their faces.
After a member, Republican Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina, was not wearing a mask on the floor in late May and then announced that he had contracted the disease, Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered House Presidents to enforce the rules of decorum that require legislators to wear Masks at committee meetings.
That order has caused tension in hearings in recent days.
At the Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, the Speaker of the Judiciary, Jerry Nadler, told lawmakers they must wear a mask unless they speak. But Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking Republican on the panel, continued to sit on top of the stand without a mask throughout the hearing (Jordan is often seen on the floor of the House without wearing a mask).
When Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Florida Democrat, was serving as president, she called Jordan. “Mr. Jordan, I find it incredibly disrespectful that you have been sitting here next to the President without wearing masks,” he said. “You are putting the lives of other people and their families at risk.”
“Every time I speak to the president, I put on a mask. I maintain a proper social detachment,” Jordan interrupted.
Jordan was the subject of another heated change Friday during a separate committee hearing.
“We have a rule that you have to wear a jacket on the floor of the House and I know that people make fun of our friend Mr. Jordan for never wearing a jacket,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland. . “I don’t mind that he doesn’t wear a jacket, it’s a fashion statement, but when he doesn’t wear a mask and interact with other people in a legislature, it’s dangerous, he’s a threat to public health.”
Raskin added: “Why is it kind of a macho thing, like I don’t wear a mask, I’m tough?”
Republican Representative Mark Green, who is a physician, also rejected: “If you are asking my clinical opinion, my opinion is that patients who are in high risk categories, people, individuals, anyone who is 65 years of age or older who has comorbidities You must wear a mask. If you don’t, I tell people in Tennessee that it is not mandatory. ”
Green’s comments also contradict the CDC’s guidance.
Most Republicans still see themselves in a mask in the House. Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, who is a senior Republican on the House committee that oversees health policy, told CNN on Friday that it is important to wear a mask to try to prevent the virus from spreading like a “extra caution”.
And Walden added, “I realized it doesn’t hurt to wear one. And for some of us, it might improve our looks.”
CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.
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