Freedom Caucus Chair Asks CDC if Pelosi Consulted Scientists on the Continued House Mask Mandate

Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) sent a letter to Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Thursday, asking if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) consulted any of the CDC’s scientists on continuing the mask mandate in the House of Representatives.

Biggs, in his letter, asked the CDC director the simple question: Did anyone from the CDC consult with Pelosi or the Office of Attending Physician before the announcement was made to “extend the mask mandate and social distancing protocols on the House floor?”

The Freedom Caucus chair highlighted in his letter that the CDC announced new guidelines for vaccinated individuals the day before Pelosi announced she will continue the mask mandate. Biggs said the CDC announced, “fully vaccinated individuals can participate in indoor and outdoor activities without wearing masks or physically distancing.” Biggs even added, Walensky, in her own words, said, “if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected, and you can start doing the things that you stopped doing because of the pandemic.”

The Republican added, during a hearing with the House Appropriations Subcommittee on May 26, Walensky refused to answer Rep. Andy Harris’s (R-MD) question “whether the speaker, or the attending physician of the House, consulted with you, or anyone else at the CDC, before she extended COVID-19 protocols on the House floor.”

Fox News reported, “Pelosi and the Capitol Attending Physician Dr. Brian Monahan have said the House mask requirement will remain unchanged until all House members are fully vaccinated.” The report added, Pelosi “previously estimated that about 75% of House members have gotten the coronavirus shots and said if Republicans want to go maskless on the House floor they need to encourage their colleagues to get jabbed.”

Biggs had added that if you do not comply with Pelosi’s mask mandate, it “can result in up to a $2,500 fine, even if a member has been vaccinated.” Additionally, he added that Pelosi and Monahan said they were “following the guidance of the agency you lead – the CDC.”