Lawmaker Suing Pelosi Over Mask Policy Gets COVID

South Carolina's Ralph Norman tested positive despite being vaccinated
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 5, 2021 3:36 PM CDT
Lawmaker Who Sued Pelosi Over Masks Gets COVID
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., speaks at a news conference held by members of the House Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill in July.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Rep. Ralph Norman, one of the three congressional Republicans suing Speaker Nancy Pelosi over fines for not wearing masks during a vote on the House floor, has contracted a breakthrough case of COVID-19, per the AP. Norman, who has said he has been fully vaccinated since February, tweeted that he began experiencing minor symptoms of COVID-19 on Thursday, tested positive for the virus that day, and would quarantine for 10 days. Norman, who has represented South Carolina's 5th District since 2017, is part of a federal lawsuit against Pelosi over a mandate earlier this year that members wear masks while on the House floor.

Last week, Norman and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky sued Pelosi, seeking a determination that their $500 fines—issued because they went maskless during a May vote—are unconstitutional and should be rescinded. "The masking requirement was an attempt to prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, medicine, and science, despite a deep divide over these issues of opinion," lawyers for the members wrote. The trio had challenged the fines in June, arguing that the mandate was out of sync with recent federal guidance on face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their appeal failed.

(More COVID-19 stories.)

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