Pelosi Bends Capitol Police to Her Will in Stunning Power Grab
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is giving Americans whiplash by recommending that, despite what they had previously been told, those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine should yet again mask up, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has seized on the opportunity to make a major power grab on Capitol Hill.
On Wednesday, Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger instructed his officers to arrest visitors and staff members on the House side of the Capitol Building and all House office buildings who do not comply with the new mask requirements.
Yes, arrest.
“If a visitor or staff member fails to wear a mask after a request is made to do so, the visitor or staff shall be denied entry to the House Office Buildings or House-side of the U.S. Capitol,” Manger, who assumed his position as the department’s chief just last week, wrote in a letter, according to The Hill.
“Any person who fails to either comply or leave the premises after being asked to do so would be subject to an arrest for Unlawful Entry.”
Members of Congress are also expected to comply with the new mask requirements, which were put in place by the Capitol physician earlier this week. They will not, however, face arrest if they refuse to comply. Instead, officers were asked to report uncooperative House members to a superior officer “who will, in turn, refer the matter to the House Sergeant at Arms,” Manger wrote.
Well, as you can imagine, there were plenty of members of the House of Representatives who took issue with this extreme attempt to enforce mask mandates at a time when Pelosi is already facing sharp criticism for perceived abuses of power, such as kicking two pro-Trump Republicans off the politicized Jan. 6 Houses select committee show trials, which are currently underway.
“Madam Speaker, your insane power grab is showing,” Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina tweeted Thursday. “Today I’m not wearing a mask outside of the chamber b/c I follow science — not Pelosi. Come and get me.”
Madam Speaker, your insane power grab is showing. Today I’m not wearing a mask outside of the chamber b/c I follow science — not Pelosi. Come and get me. pic.twitter.com/7vDNn4Tzke
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) July 29, 2021
“Nancy Pelosi just appointed herself dictator of the House of Representatives,” Texas Republican Rep. Roger Williams wrote on Twitter along with a video. “She’s ordered Capitol police to arrest our staff if not wearing a mask. She’s a tyrant and a disgrace to the PEOPLE’s House.”
Nancy Pelosi just appointed herself dictator of the House of Representatives.
She’s ordered Capitol police to arrest our staff if not wearing a mask. She’s a tyrant and a disgrace to the PEOPLE’s House. pic.twitter.com/XQboeO1m9D
— Rep. Roger Williams (@RepRWilliams) July 29, 2021
Fellow Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said Capitol Police may as well arrest his whole staff.
“This is INSANE,” he tweeted. “I support the Capitol Hill Police, but the Chief of Police made a mistake here. The physician and the chief of police don’t have this authority.”
This is INSANE. Might as well come into my office and arrest my entire staff. We are not wearing masks. I support the Capitol Hill Police, but the Chief of Police made a mistake here. The physician and the chief of police don’t have this authority. https://t.co/CgiSuNvE8c
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 29, 2021
Meanwhile, Pelosi, ever sensible and even-tempered, responded to criticism of the new mask mandates for the House by calling her Republican counterpart, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a “moron.”
McCarthy had criticized the return to mask mandates on Tuesday, writing on Twitter, “Make no mistake — The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state.”
Make no mistake—The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) July 28, 2021
When asked by reporters what she thought about McCarthy’s comments, Pelosi muttered “he is such a moron.”
And here we have the summation of the debate on masking requirements, as played out in the citadel of democracy.
Freedom-loving Americans and their representatives are sick and tired of the “science” flip-flopping, they’re angry they were told that the vaccine would bring an end to the pandemic and they’re outraged at the endless power-tripping at the hands of the aspiring authoritarians heading up the executive and legislative branches of the federal government.
Meanwhile, all the left can do is call us “stupid” for refusing to be treated as such by inconsistency and tyranny from the powers that be.
Are you sick and tired of it yet?
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