Donalds confirmed the encounter and said that people should take care of their own business.Just as tensions seemed to be getting worse in the political tinderbox of the House, Covid's Delta variant made a surprising return with a mask mandate. Long-held frustrations and grievances over the Jan. 6 pro Trump riot are now back in public view. Hundreds of Republicans have flouted the new public-health guidance amid an increase of cases at the Capitol.It's not just hallway battles between the ranks and filibusters this time. As NBC captured, the House's top two party leaders got into a heated argument over Covid precautions. Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader, a moron for opposing the mask requirement. McCarthy called the speaker brilliant, sarcastically.McCarthy later compared Pelosi’s mask mandate to a visit to a hair salon she made last fall while her town was cutting indoor services due to the pandemic. This episode was later called "a setup" by critics. McCarthy also claimed that the speaker was not masked at a meeting with the Iraqi prime Minister. A Democratic aide replied that all party members were fully vaccinated and removed their masks to eat, speak, and eat.It's really bad, House Majority Leader StenyHoyer (D-Md.). He said it in an understatement of the mood in the chamber. Then he swiped at Republicans."Most of the times that I've worked here in Congress, we have had leadership. Whether we were in a majority or a minority, that was somewhat determined to keep things even," Hoyer said, with a faint, but clear, criticism directed at McCarthy. "That's enough.The Senate struck a huge bipartisan infrastructure deal Wednesday while the House took a series of protest votes from an angry group of Republicans. This is a striking juxtaposition that shows how drastically different the dynamics are across Capitol.There is more to the situation than the increased anxiety about coronavirus at the Capitol. Cases are still spiking weeks after normalcy returned to the campus. After the Democratic-led investigation into Jan. 6, McCarthy pulled his members out of the panel after Pelosi rejected two of his most fierce Trump supporters. There is no interest in bipartisan cooperation.Rep. Tim Ryan (D.Ohio), said, "It feels just really messy." There is a certain level of immaturity and attention-seeking on the Republican side.Huffman's and Donalds' dispute is just one of many recent clashes between parties. Both sides are counting down the hours to August recess amid the hottest days in D.C. One Democrat even compared Republican complaints over masks to baby crying about diapers.Rep. Jamie Raskin (D.Md.), was present on Tuesday. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) used a procedural hearing to address GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., about his remarks on Jan. 6 comparing the rioters to normal tourists.The situation quickly escalated, and House Rules Committee Chair Jim McGovern (D.Mass.) was forced to intervene. The House Rules Committee Chair Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) was forced to intervene to urge members to lower decibels.Raskin stated that he refused to reveal whether he heard Capitol officers who have suffered traumatic medical injuries and risked their lives. It is his right.Clyde vs. Trump was a contentious issue at the hearing. It occurred just hours after four law enforcement officers testified to the violence they experienced in responding to Trump supporters' attacks on the Capitol.However, the mask mandate has been the source of tensions at the House with the most passionate displays. Just two months after May's repeal of the masking requirement by the Capitol doctor, lawmakers and staff from both parties are still dealing with pandemic whiplash.Rep. Chip Roy (Republican from Texas), a conservative with a reputation of procedural mischief at the House, led a day-long series GOP protest votes over mandat.Roy stated in an interview that he is having trouble finding a single thing about which I can agree with my colleagues from the other side of this aisle.Roy was one of the roughly two dozen House Republicans that disregarded the new guidance. He opted to not wear a mask while on the floor, risking a $500 penalty.Donalds said that he didn't wear his mask after being confronted by Huffman. This was especially true for people like him who have had Covid.Donalds stated that members who are sanctimonious about telling another member what to do with their bodies will cause problems. The members on the opposite side of the aisle didn't like it last time I checked.Hardline Republicans are skeptical of Capitol physicians' health guidance. Several, including Roy and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R.Ga.), have refused to use vaccines or masks since before the summer lull in cases. However, most House Republicans followed the earlier guidance and received their vaccines as soon as they were able.The House GOP has lost its patience with Biden's course-reversal regarding masks. They claim that it is not based upon the actual risks for vaccinated persons. Others argued that reinstating masks could send the wrong message and encourage vaccine hesitancy. However, they also pointed out that the new guidance is only for the House and not the Senate. (Notably, this week the Senate GOP increased its pro-vaccine messaging.McCarthy said Wednesday that if she is so gifted, she could tell me where science has changed between the Senate and the House. He did not follow the instructions and wore his mask on the floor. Tell me, if she is so knowledgeable in science, where has the science changed in the Rotunda.According to a source familiar, McCarthy and other Republicans will meet Wednesday with the Office of the Attending Physician to discuss the new mask guidance.Some Republicans have dismissed the guidance aggressively: A Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert was spotted throwing a mask back at a floor staffer as she walked unmasked on the floor. Boebert called it a "face muzzle" and claimed that the new mandate was nonsense.However, not all Republicans supported Roys attempts to protest the mask order. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), called it an inconvenience that will not go anywhere. The majority of the GOP frustration was directed at Democrats and the two Republicans serving on Jan. 6's committee to appoint Pelosi: Reps. Liz Cheney from Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois.Many lawmakers see August recess as a temporary solution.Rep. Scott Peters (D.Calif.) said that everyone wants to go home. We were all so tired of one another.
