Twelfth House Republican fined for not wearing mask

The House Ethics Committee on Monday disclosed that Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) has been fined $500 for not wearing a mask on the House floor, making him the 12th House Republican facing monetary sanction for defying the requirement before it was rescinded last week.

Lawmakers have 30 days to challenge the fines before the House Ethics Committee, but Weber did not file an appeal, according to the panel.

The Ethics Committee said that it received notice of the fine issued to Weber by the House sergeant-at-arms on Nov. 30.

The Capitol physician announced last week — two days before President Biden’s State of the Union address — that masks were no longer mandatory.

The change came days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance that masks should be optional in localities with what it considers “low” or “medium” community level of COVID-19.

Eleven other House Republicans have been fined for not wearing a mask in the House chamber in the last year: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Andrew Clyde (Ga.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa), Bob Good (Va.), Mary Miller (Ill.), Chip Roy (Texas), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Brian Mast (Fla.), Beth Van Duyne (Texas) and Thomas Massie (Ky.).

Only three of those Republicans have been repeat offenders. Miller-Meeks has been fined twice, while Greene and Clyde have both been fined dozens of times.

The mask mandate in the House chamber and in surrounding office buildings first went into effect in July 2020, after several Republicans refused to wear masks. House Democrats established fines starting at $500 — and $2,500 for subsequent offenses — in January 2021 after they were angered by several Republicans who refused to wear masks while lawmakers were crowded in a secure space during the attack on the Capitol.

Greene said last month that she is “well over $100,000” in mask fines, while Clyde has been fined at least $68,000.

The Senate, meanwhile, has never had a mask mandate since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.