(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) Two prominent Republican Senators have announced that they will not attend President Joe Biden‘s State of the Union address due to strict COVID-19 procedures, Hannity.com reported.
The House, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has mandated that everyone who attends the address show a “daily negative health screening inventory” and wear a “high-quality, properly fitted, medical-grade filtration mask (KN95 or N95) at all times.”
After Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., read these rules, he said he will not attend.
Below is the #CovidTheatre rituals required to attend the State of the Union
No thank you, maybe next time pic.twitter.com/Fe0BSthVjk
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 18, 2022
The House’s leadership warned that “failure to follow guidelines or removal of the mask in the House Chamber will result in the attendee’s removal from the event and/or fines.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., will not attend the State of the Union either.
“Nancy Pelosi’s COVID theatrics are a joke and Senator Cotton will not be attending,” Cotton’s spokesman, James Arnold, told Breitbart.
The House of Representatives still has a mask mandate for all members, but the Senate does not have a mandate.
Some other restrictions for the State of the Union include adherence to “social distancing guidelines regarding seating separation distances,” use of “waterless hand cleanser on entry to the House Chamber,” and avoidance of “physical contact with other individuals.”
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., said he will not attend the State of the Union, but he cited the wall that security guards will construct around the Capitol, not the COVID-19 rituals.
Paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to lock down a building for a Congress & a President at war with the American people. The @HouseGOP & @SenateGOP should decline to participate. Charter a plane to McAllen & challenge @joebiden to #SecureOurBorder. https://t.co/sJfnDJXgCj
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) February 20, 2022
Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., also said in a statement to Breitbart that he will not attend.
“The arbitrary and capricious rules set forth are nothing short of farce and political theater meant to deeply divide and further distract from a president who just never fails to fail,” he said.
Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va. told Headline USA that he would not attend due to the limitations on attendance that the House had put in place.
He noted that Pelosi’s inconsistent masking rules had helped drive the partisan wedge even deeper in the halls of Congress.
“She changes the rules constantly,” Mooney said. “If they’re trying to make it like we’re all working together—they’re dividing.”
