The Independent View: House Ethics Panel Upholds Mask Fines Against GOP Lawmakers

The House Ethics Committee, announced Tuesday, that it is upholding $500 Fines against Three Additional GOP Lawmakers for Refusing to Wear Masks on the House Floor while it was still Required during the Pandemic.

GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14th District), Thomas Massie (KY-4th District), and Ralph Norman (SC-5th District), all Filed Appeals against the Fines that were issued in May. But they Failed to persuade a Majority of the Panel, which is evenly Split between the Two Parties.

The House Ethics Committee previously Upheld the $500 Fines levied against GOP Reps. Brian Mast (FL-18th District), Beth Van Duyne (TX-24th District), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-2nd District), who also participated in the Mask Protest, in May.

All of the Six Republicans were Protesting the House Floor Mask Mandate, at the time, given that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had recently announced that Fully Vaccinated People don't need to Wear Masks in most Settings.

While Mast, Van Duyne, Miller-Meeks, and Norman, have All said they are Vaccinated, Greene has declined to Reveal her Vaccination Status, and Massie has said he Won't get the Vaccine because he previously tested Positive for COVID-19 Antibodies.

Public Health Officials still Advise getting Vaccinated despite any previous Recovery from the Virus.

Greene Accused the Democrats on the House Ethics Committee of Bias given that All but One of them, including Chairman Ted Deutch (D-FL, 21st District), have Cosponsored a Resolution to Expel Her from Congress. "If they're signing a resolution to expel me, then they shouldn't be the people voting on the committee. I think that's definitely a conflict of interest," Greene told Reporters after the Ethics Committee's Announcement, on Tuesday.

The Capitol Physician initially Defended keeping the House Floor Mask Mandate, in place, in the days after the CDC Announcement, on May 13th because the Lower Chamber is "the only location where the entire membership gathers periodically throughout the day in an interior space."

But the Capitol Physician ultimately Updated the Guidance on June 11th, stating that Only People who are Unvaccinated or "vaccination-indeterminate" should wear Masks. Yet such Guidance has Not been Enforced, with few Staff or Lawmakers Wearing Masks in recent Weeks.

More People in the Capitol did Wear Masks, on Tuesday, in light of News that Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL, 16th District), a White House Official, and an Aide to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA, 12th District), Tested Positive for COVID-19, in recent days despite being Fully Vaccinated.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD, 5th District), said Tuesday, that while the House Mask Guidance remains Unchanged for now, he didn't Rule-Out the Possibility of Reinstating it amid the Spread of the Delta Variant. "Having a member come down with it and having a staffer come down with it is a stark example of why we need to be cautious," Hoyer told Reporters.

The Senate, meanwhile, has never had a Mask Mandate or Fines to Enforce the Rules because most Senators Voluntarily complied with Masks earlier in the Pandemic and All but a few are Vaccinated.

Pelosi first announced the House Floor Mask Requirement, last July, due to Numerous Republicans Refusing to Wear Masks, including One who later Tested Positive for COVID-19.

House Democrats Voted, in January, to Enforce the Mask Rules with Fines, $500 for the First Offense, and $2,500 for the Second, after Three of their Members Tested Positive, after Spending Hours in a Crowded Secure Space during the Jan. 6th Insurrection with Several Republicans who did Not Wear Masks.