White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is not willing to wear a mask while speaking to reporters.
While being addressed by reporters on Monday, Meadows stepped back with the microphone so he could answer questions without wearing a mask.
“Let me pull this away. That way I can take this off to talk,” Meadows said.
A reporter replied to Meadows, “No, can you please keep it on?”
He attempted to justify his choice.
“I’m more than 10 feet away,” Meadows said.
He walked away and added, “I’m not going to talk through a mask.”
Watch the exchange below:
Mark Meadows: "Let me pull this away — that way I can take this off."
— The Hill (@thehill) October 12, 2020
Reporter: "No, can you please keep it on?"
Meadows: "I'm more than ten feet away."
Reporter: "No –"
Meadows: "I'm not going to talk through a mask."
Meadows walks away. pic.twitter.com/Meavzxr7LA
Tensions surrounding the spread of COVID-19 are rising on Capitol Hill as Senate confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett are underway.
Lawmakers have raised concerns over holding the hearings after three senators tested positive for COVID-19.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris delivered her remarks during Monday’s hearing virtually and warned the decision to hold the hearing was “reckless,” as IJR previously reported.
“This hearing has brought together more than 50 people to sit inside of a closed-door room for hours while our nation is facing a deadly airborne virus,” Harris said.
She continued, “This committee has ignored common-sense requests to keep people safe, including not requiring testing for all members, despite a coronavirus outbreak among senator of this very committee.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) attended the hearing in person just 10 days after testing positive for the coronavirus, as IJR previously reported.
Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said during his remarks holding the hearings is not “normal.”
“What is going on in America today, in the midst of a deadly pandemic in an ongoing election, having a rushed Supreme Court nomination hearing is not normal and we cannot normalize,” Booker said.
As of Monday afternoon, more than 7.7 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus and nearly 215,000 have lost their lives.
