Top Stories this PM: 228 Republicans ask to overturn Roe v. Wade; where the vaccinated are catching COVID-19
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What happened today:
Biden’s vaccine mandate. President Joe Biden announced that all federal employees will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested regularly for the infectious disease and wear a mask. The White House has also asked the Pentagon to look into how to require it for the military. The move will impact the nation’s roughly 2 million federal workers and 2 million members of the armed forces.
Abortion rights are under threat … again.Nearly 230 congressional Republicans urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. Forty-four senators and 184 House members believe the court should use an upcoming Mississippi case to leave abortion-related legislation up to states. And yep, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are on the list.
USA TODAY
Washington – House Republicans staged a maskless protest on Thursday against the latest COVID-19 protocols in Congress, put in place amid a spike in new infections in Washington, D.C., and around the country.
The protest by House GOP lawmakers, who marched over to the Senate without masks, was a display of defiance after the Capitol s attending physician Brian Monahan reimposed a mask mandate for lawmakers and congressional staff. Monahan cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s new recommendation that vaccinated and unvaccinated people should wear masks in indoor spaces as the highly transmissible delta variant drives up COVID caseloads.
July 29, 2021
House Republicans have sought to change the narrative on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by pro-Trump protesters, claiming that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “ultimately responsible for the breakdown of security at the Capitol.”
But their arguments overstate the role of the House speaker in overseeing the security of the Capitol and rely on speculation about Pelosi’s involvement and knowledge about intelligence warnings for which they have not provided any proof.
Republican Rep. Jim Banks said that Pelosi, as speaker, “has more control and authority and responsibility over the leadership of the Capitol Police than anyone else in the United States Capitol” and therefore, “is ultimately responsible for the breakdown of security at the Capitol that happened on Jan. 6.” The speaker does not oversee security of the U.S. Capitol. The speaker appoints one member of a four-member board that oversees Capitol security, and who then must be approved by the House.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
On Tuesday, the Capitol Physician Brian Monahan reinstated the mask requirement for indoor meetings and House of Representatives sessions.
Yesterday, a memo was issued that the Capitol Police are to arrest any indivdual, whether visitor or staff, who refuses to comply with the reinstated mandate.
The mandate is only in force in the House of Representatives. No such mandate was issued for the Senate side of the Capitol.
This is absolutely nonsensical. This is the same logic they used in restaurants. COVID is active when you walk through the door and wait for your table, but then magically disappears when you sit down to eat and interact. There is no science involved in this.
Capitol Police ordered to arrest maskless staff, visitors
A U.S. Capitol Police officer wears a mask as signs regarding the new facial mask mandate are posted outside a hearing room of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of House Committee on Oversight and Reform at Rayburn House Office Building July 29, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:08 PM PT – Thursday, July 29, 2021
House Republicans have refused to follow a newly imposed mask mandate in the House as Capitol Police are now being ordered to arrest any visitors not willing to comply. Capitol Police are to arrest any staff and visitors if they are not wearing masks on the House side of the Capitol and its office buildings. This is according to a memo obtained by Florida Rep. Kat Cammack (R) on Thursday.