GOP Rep. Clyde racks up $15,500 in mask fines
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) has been fined $15,500 for not wearing a mask on the House floor at least seven times in recent weeks, the House Ethics Committee disclosed on Monday.
Clyde has now racked up a total of $30,500 worth of fines this year for declining to comply with House rules established by Democrats requiring lawmakers to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and undergo security screenings prior to entering the chamber.
Clyde was also fined $15,000 earlier this year for twice evading the metal detector screenings, which were established after the violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to enforce longstanding rules prohibiting anyone from bringing weapons into the House chamber. Clyde later made headlines in May when he compared scenes from Jan. 6 to a “normal tourist visit.”
Clyde isn’t the only House Republican who is accruing hefty fines to protest rules regarding masks during the pandemic.
The Hill first reported last week that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has been fined $48,000 after the House sergeant-at-arms documented she had not worn a mask at least 20 times through the end of October.
Under the rules established by Democrats, lawmakers are fined $500 for the first mask offense and $2,500 for subsequent offenses. Lawmakers who fail to comply with the chamber security screenings are fined $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for subsequent offenses. The penalties are deducted from lawmakers’ salaries and cannot be paid for with campaign or congressional office budget funds.
Lawmakers have 30 days to file an appeal against any fine if they wish, but Clyde did not attempt to challenge any of his mask-related penalties. Clyde’s office didn’t immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.
Clyde, along with Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), filed a lawsuit in June to challenge the constitutionality of the security screening fines.
Greene and fellow GOP Reps. Ralph Norman (S.C.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.) similarly filed a lawsuit challenging the mask fines after they were all hit with penalties earlier this year.
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