Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene fined $2,500 for failing to wear mask on House floor

Chelsey Cox
·2 min read
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WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. was fined for flouting a mask mandate on the floor of the House of Representatives, according to a Wednesday statement from the House Committee on Ethics.

The Office of the Sergeant at Arms levied a fine against Greene on Aug. 2 for failing to wear a mask "in contravention of the Speaker's announced policies of January 4, 2021," according to a House Resolution.

The fine is part of an ongoing battle over COVID-19 restrictions as the delta variant surges, with many conservatives, including members of Congress, stridently resisting masks and other measures.

Notice of the fine was posted by the ethics committee when Greene did not submit an appeal within an approved time frame.

Greene was fined for the same offense on May 20 and her initial appeal was not approved by the committee.

According to official documentation, Greene will have to pay $2,500 for a subsequent offense. First time offenders are fined $500.

Greene's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Georgia Republican has been open about her anti-mask stance and even compared the COVID-19 safety precaution to the Holocaust earlier this year.

House Democrats imposed the mask mandate in January amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was briefly lifted in June before being reinstated in July following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wear masks indoors.

Greene is not the only member of Congress reprimanded for failing to comply with the mask mandate. Rep. Chip Roy was also fined on Aug. 2. The Texas Republican defied the rule again after receiving a first warning in May, according to The Texas Tribune.

Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., were also fined on May 20.

Roy, who declined to file an appeal within the accepted time frame, told USA TODAY he wanted the flexibility to sue.

“Filing an appeal to tyrannical overlords is a futile gesture, and — if successful —would leave one without standing to sue, should the mood arise,” he said in a statement.

Reach out to Chelsey Cox on Twitter at @therealco.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marjorie Taylor Greene fined second time for defying mask mandate