Greene and Clyde Rack Up Fines for Defying House’s Mask Mandate

WASHINGTON — During a caller marathon league successful the House, 2 Republican lawmakers from Georgia sat successful afloat presumption of tv cameras. Neither was wearing a mask.

It was the latest enactment of defiance by the pair, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Andrew Clyde, against a regularisation requiring legislators to deterioration masks connected the House floor. Most Republican lawmakers, nevertheless grudgingly, person complied with the mandate, which tin transportation fines that rapidly adhd up to hefty amounts. But Ms. Greene and Mr. Clyde person repeatedly, and proudly, flouted it.

To date, the 2 person incurred much than $100,000 combined successful fines, which are taken straight from their paychecks.

A solution approved by the House successful January says that members volition beryllium fined $500 the archetypal clip they neglect to deterioration a disguise connected the House floor, and $2,500 for consequent violations. The House Ethics Committee notes each good successful a quality release, but Ms. Greene’s and Mr. Clyde’s violations were truthful galore that the sheet began announcing theirs successful bunches.

Ms. Greene, who has said she is unvaccinated, called the disguise request “communist,” “tyrannical” and “authoritarian.”

“The American radical person had capable and are lasting up against these outrageous and unconstitutional policies,” she said successful a statement.

Ms. Greene has been fined much than 30 times for violating the disguise rules, accumulating much than $80,000 successful penalties, according to her office. She was fined 5 days successful a enactment during 1 agelong this fall.

Only 20 of Ms. Greene’s fines, totaling astir $50,000, person been announced by the Ethics Committee. (House procedures and appeals tin hold announcements by up to 2 months.)

Mr. Clyde has been fined astatine slightest 14 times for violating the disguise rule, accruing astatine slightest $30,000 successful penalties.

In contesting his fines, Mr. Clyde has accused the House and the sergeant-at-arms, who enforces the penalties, of a “deeply troubling” signifier of “selective enforcement.”

Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who has besides been fined, suggested that Mr. Clyde had recovered a mode astir paying the penalties. Mr. Massie told CNN that Mr. Clyde had changed his payroll withholdings truthful that helium was paid lone $1 a month.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Clyde did not respond to a petition for comment.

Other Republicans who person been fined astatine slightest erstwhile for not wearing a disguise connected the House level see Bob Good of Virginia, Brian Mast of Florida, Mary Miller of Illinois, Beth Van Duyne of Texas, Chip Roy of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa.

Mr. Massie, Ms. Greene and Mr. Norman person filed a national suit successful Washington against Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seeking a judge’s bid to onslaught down the fines arsenic unconstitutional. The suit accuses Ms. Pelosi of utilizing the mandate “as a cudgel” to dock the wage of her “political opponents.”

It argues that the House whitethorn good members for disorderly behavior, but that the Republicans bash not judge refusing to deterioration a disguise falls into that category.

“Merely entering the House enclosure without a mask,” the suit says, “did not represent ‘disorderly behavior’ due to the fact that it did not disrupt the House’s operations oregon bully order, nor is it different unlawful conduct.”

Ms. Pelosi has said the disguise regularisation helps support lawmakers and unit members from a “terrible epidemic that has caused suffering and decease connected a standard not seen successful this state since the 1918 influenza pandemic.”

In a tribunal filing, Douglas N. Letter, the House’s wide counsel, noted that 1 subordinate of Congress, Representative Ron Wright, Republican of Texas, and a representative-elect, Luke Letlow, Republican of Louisiana, died aft contracting the virus.

Mr. Letter said that issuing fines for refusing to deterioration a disguise fell squarely wrong the House’s law powers to “govern its ain enclosure proceedings and to subject its ain members.”

“This is peculiarly existent here,” helium wrote, “where the solution astatine contented is designed to support the wellness of members and unit successful the spot wherever each afloat House debates and votes instrumentality place.”

Those arguments appeared to find enactment successful tribunal this month, arsenic a national justice expressed skepticism astir the merits of the suit.

A House regularisation requiring members to walk done a metallic detector earlier entering the enclosure has besides resulted successful violations.

That regularisation was enacted aft a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol connected Jan. 6 and Ms. Pelosi pushed for enhanced security. A archetypal usurpation carries a $5,000 fine, followed by $10,000 for consequent violations.

Mr. Clyde and 7 different Republicans person been fined for violating the metallic detector rule, arsenic was Representative James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina.