House fines 4 members for ignoring mask policy on the floor, warns 7 others

Four GOP members of Congress were fined $500 for failing to wear a mask on the House floor in protest of the congressional mandate they argue needs to be updated in light of new coronavirus guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

GOP Reps. Brian Mast of Florida, Beth Van Duyne of Texas, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Ralph Norman of South Carolina were issued a $500 fine apiece. Future violations could reach $2,500.

Seven other fellow Republican members of Congress were issued warnings: Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Chip Roy of Texas, Bob Good of Virginia, Mary Miller of Illinois and Louie Gohmert of Texas.

Meanwhile, GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., authored a resolution demanding the House comply with CDC guidelines and allow people to be unmasked on the floor and in committee hearings. The GOP-backed effort says the House "mask mandate sends the erroneous messages that the efficacy of the vaccines cannot be trusted." 

Mast and Miller-Meeks both said they are fully vaccinated and were just following the updated CDC guidelines that no longer advise mask-wearing for those who have completed the coronavirus shots. The CDC made exceptions for requirements by federal and state laws and guidelines set out by employers and businesses.

"The scientists at the CDC are telling us if you are fully vaccinated, you can go about your life without wearing a mask or physically distancing," Mast said in a statement. "So, that's what I'm doing. The question people should be asking is why is Speaker Pelosi not? For her, this has never been about science, it's always been about power and control over the American people."

Miller-Meeks, a physician, has long been encouraging her constituents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and has spent time administering the shots back home in Iowa. She says the House should lead by example and return to normal operations. 

"The new CDC guidelines say fully vaccinated individuals do not have to wear masks indoors," Miller-Meeks' spokesperson Will Kiley told Fox News. "The Congresswoman is following the science, and the House should do the same."