Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene raged against her Republican colleagues on Friday, slamming them for failing to address mask mandates that have arisen across the nation in response to a rise in COVID hospitalizations.
Posting to X (formerly Twitter), Greene described being "shocked" about receiving a notice from GOP Representative Brad Wenstrup, chairman of the House's Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, about a hearing exploring the "pandemic erosion of the doctor-patient relationship."
"I have not heard one person say they are concerned about the doctor patient relationship when it comes to COVID," Greene said. "However people are screaming, 'WE WILL NOT COMPLY' as the Biden admin and Fauci are insanely calling for masks mandates and more funding for COVID vaccines, while some schools are forcibly masking children again - which is CHILD ABUSE."
She went on: "If you care about public health, then actually listen to the public when they are telling you what's wrong!"
The subcommittee's hearing is scheduled for September 14 at 10 a.m. Newsweek reached out to Greene via email for further comment.
Some schools and hospitals have announced a return to mask mandates after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an increase in COVID hospitalizations at the end of last month. Between August 20 and 26, the U.S. saw a 15.7 percent rise in hospitalizations that health officials say could be due to the new BA.2.86 variant.
The CDC says BA.2.86 "may be more capable of causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received COVID-19 vaccines."
Although those mandates have been limited to facilities in New York, California, Maryland and Alabama, Republicans across the country have crusaded against the prospect of masking orders coming back.
Greene has been a staunch opponent of mask mandates since the pandemic, comparing congressional mandates to the Holocaust in May 2021. In November 2021, she faced fines for refusing to wear a mask on the House floor and has ripped into institutions that have restored mandates recently.
On Friday, the Georgia Republican said it was a waste of time for the House COVID subcommittee to be holding a hearing about the doctor-patient relationship when Americans are more concerned about masks and vaccines.
"I'm not a doctor and I don't have to be to tell you right now why there is mistrust in the doctor patient relationship, it's [because] doctors told patients to take a vaccine that caused injuries and even deaths in a percentage of the vaccinated and no one is doing a damn thing about it," Greene said in her X post.
The CDC, however, says that the benefits of the COVID vaccines far outweigh any potential risks. Its website states that "people receiving COVID-19 vaccines are less likely to die from COVID-19 and its complications and are at no greater risk of death from non-COVID causes than unvaccinated people."
Still, misinformation surrounding the virus has heightened fears that the vaccines have adverse health impacts. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in the spring found that a third of Americans think the vaccine "caused thousands of sudden deaths in otherwise healthy people."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
