WASHINGTON—President-elect Joe Biden on Monday chastised GOP lawmakers for refusing to wear masks while they were held in a safe location as a violent mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol last week.
As lawmakers waited for law enforcement to secure the Capitol on Wednesday, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) went around a packed room passing out masks to people without them, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“When they were hiding from the mob, she was going around trying to hand out masks to everybody,” Biden said to a group of reporters. “And her Republican colleagues wouldn’t wear a mask. I think it’s irresponsible.”
In a video obtained by Punchbowl News, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Michael Cloud (R-Texas), were all not wearing masks, and they turned down the disposable masks that Rochester was offering.
“It’s not a political issue,” Biden said. “It’s an issue of public safety.”
There were nearly 100 people in the room, according to multiple media reports.
“While I was disappointed in my colleagues who refused to wear a mask, I was encouraged by those who did,” Rochester wrote on Twitter Friday. “My goal, in the midst of what I feared was a super spreader event, was to make the room at least a little safer.”
More than 22.5 million Americans are infected with COVID-19 and more than 375,000 people have died from coronavirus in the U.S.
The attending physician of the Capitol, Dr. Brian Monahan, also raised concerns to lawmakers about possible COVID-19 exposures from the rioters last week.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, (D-N.J.), announced Monday on Twitter that she tested positive for COVID-19. She said she decided to get tested after she had to stay in a room with Republicans who did not wear masks. Coleman is a cancer survivor.
“I received a positive test result for COVID-19, and am home resting at this time,” she said in a statement. “While I am experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, I remain in good spirits and will continue to work on behalf of my constituents.”
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) also announced that he and another lawmaker he lives with tested positive for COVID-19.
“I currently feel okay and remain in contact with the Attending Physician,” he said in a statement. “I again, want to urge all Americans to continue to wear masks, practice proper hygiene, and follow CDC guidance as we work to combat COVID-19.”
