Three Republican members of Congress are suing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) after receiving fines for not wearing masks on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Though the mask mandate hadn’t been in effect more recently, Pelosi plans to resume in light of the CDC’s flip-flopping on masking, according to The Hill.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) were all fined $500 for refusing to comply with the mandate in May — and now, they are fighting back.
All three GOP members originally challenged the fines, but the House Ethics Committee rejected their appeals, leaving them one option — to sue Pelosi.
“Nancy Pelosi’s fine against us for not wearing a mask violates the 27th Amendment,” Massie said Tuesday, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.
The 27th Amendment essentially forbids Congress from granting themselves a pay raise in the middle of a term, making it difficult to see how this applies.
“Nancy Pelosi did this by edict,” Massie argued. “There’s no law. She changed this rule on her own. She did it unconstitutionally.”
Of the three GOP plaintiffs, Norman is vaccinated, Greene has declined to comment, and though Massie is not vaccinated, he previously tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.
Massie also noted that he and his colleagues’ challenge is not about fighting the fine, but fighting the Democratic establishment.
“So folks, we are here today not because of $500 in fines,” said the Kentucky congressman, “but because the American people need somebody to fight and they’re tired of people who won’t fight.”
Greene reiterated Massie’s point that this lawsuit has a much greater meaning for them.
“It’s very important for us as members of Congress to stand up against this abuse so that people back home can do the same thing,” Greene said on Tuesday, according to WTVC.