(TheDailyHorn.com) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was quick to adopt the guidelines set in 2020 by the Centers for Disease Control that had the chamber behind masks for the better part of two years. Now, just in time for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address, Pelosi will allow House members to choose whether or not to wear a mask on the chamber floor.
The rule change comes as the Capitol’s Attending Physician Dr. Brian P. Monahan announced that the positive infection rate in the building had fallen to 2.7%, which is lower than the overall infection rates in Washington DC, Maryland, or Virginia.
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According to new CDC guidelines, that puts the Capitol Building in the “green.” With the low number of infections and high vaccination rate, Dr. Monahan decided to rescind the Capitol-wide mask mandate currently in place.
Pelosi retains control over House rules, but she declined to keep a mandate in place, instead opting to allow members to make their own choices. The updated decision comes during a shift in political talking points for Democrats, who are looking to move past the fear and anxiety of the pandemic to something more positive that might help them in November. Mandates are wildly unpopular, especially as Omicron cases dwindle.
Is it possible Nancy Pelosi is finally listening to reason or is she just giving in to political rhetoric?
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