House Speaker and San Francisco Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi called House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy a "moron" after she was asked about his critical comments on the new mask mandate in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Capitol attending physician announced Tuesday that the House is reinstating the mask mandate for all members regardless of vaccination status amid the rising threat of the delta variant. The decision comes in congruence with the CDC’s updated recommendation.
McCarthy, a Republican who represents California's 23rd district, tweeted Tuesday night that the new mandate was not a decision based on science, but just a tactic by liberals to remain in a pandemic state.
A reporter asked Pelosi about the criticism while she entered her SUV outside the Capitol. "He’s such a moron," she responded.
In a tweet, Pelosi’s Chief of Staff, Drew Hammil, said because of poor audio he couldn’t verify whether or not she said the insult, but did confirm that she believes "'saying a mask requirement is not a decision based on science is moronic'."
When McCarthy was asked about the insult on Wedneday, he continued to scrutinize the science behind the new mandate.
"Well if she's so bright, I'd like to know where the science changes in the Capitol, between the House and the Senate," he told reporters, referencing that the updated mandate does not apply to the Senate.
According to the New York Times, the reason the attending physician did not issue the mandate in the Senate is because one, it is a smaller body than the House and two, most Senators are vaccinated.
Last week, a CNN poll revealed that, when asked, almost half of all House Republicans would not say if they were vaccinated or not. Meanwhile, nearly every House Democrat said they were vaccinated.
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