华盛顿——共和党人反对在众议院戴口罩的要求，这加剧了与大多数民主党人的紧张关系，他们拒绝在联邦政府的最新指导下改变规定健康官员。

加利福尼亚州少数党领袖凯文·麦卡锡周三领导了一项努力，要求主治医师办公室更新其对在众议院和委员会听证室接种疫苗的议员和工作人员佩戴口罩的指导，但民主党以218票对210票的党内投票否决了这项提议。

立法者在众议院发言时可以摘下口罩，但在众议院发言时必须戴上口罩。参议院没有戴口罩的要求。

民主党议员表示，他们也厌倦了这些要求，但他们担心，他们的一些共和党同事拒绝接种疫苗，可能会传播病毒。

一些共和党议员在周二的投票中选择不带口罩，一些人特别小心地站在会议厅的井旁，以确保观众、同事和C-SPAN的摄像头不会错过他们。

他们的反抗可能要付出经济代价。拒绝戴口罩的议员首次犯罪将被罚款500美元。随后的违规行为可能会导致2500美元的罚款。然而，实际上，众议院的军士长正在为第一次进攻提供警告。

美联社获得的一份名单显示，将有7名议员受到此类警告:科罗拉多州的劳伦·博伯特(Lauren Boebert)、肯塔基州的托马斯·马西(Thomas Massie)、佐治亚州的马乔里·泰勒·格林(Marjorie Taylor Greene)、得克萨斯州的奇普·罗伊(Chip Roy)、弗吉尼亚州的鲍勃·古德(Bob Good)、得克萨斯州的路易·戈梅尔(Louie Gohmert)和伊利诺伊州的玛丽·米勒(Mary

另外三人已经收到警告，将被罚款500美元。他们是佛罗里达州的布赖恩·马斯特、爱荷华州的玛丽安特·米勒-米克斯和德克萨斯州的贝丝·范·杜恩。他们将被处以2500美元的额外罚款。

麦卡锡通过一项决议跟进了他们的抗议，该决议称面具授权“阻碍了众议院正确有效地处理人民事务的能力”。

该决议指出，那些没有接种疫苗的人“对那些接种过疫苗的人没有真正的威胁”。它呼吁众议院的主治医生咨询疾病控制和预防中心的主任，并提供最新的口罩指南。

众议院的口罩起义已经酝酿了几个月，一些共和党人对疫情期间实施的额外安全预防措施感到恼火，这些措施在1月6日美国国会大厦起义后得到了加强。去年，当许多共和党人无视公共卫生指导，拒绝佩戴口罩时，民主党人实施了口罩要求。

一些共和党人的抱怨越来越大，因为疾控中心改变了其口罩指南，称完全接种疫苗的人在几乎所有情况下都可以跳过面部覆盖物和社交距离。

疾控中心的指南称，在拥挤的室内场所，如飞机、公共汽车、医院和监狱，所有人都应该戴口罩。国会大厦的立法者和其他人在大楼里走动时已经停止戴口罩。

众议院议长南希·佩洛西的发言人德鲁·哈米尔说，主治医师办公室一直在与疾控中心协商，最近一次是在周二。他说，周三发布的新指南称，口罩要求“完全符合”疾控中心的建议，并确保众议院能够安全有效地辩论和通过立法。

“如果少数党领袖麦卡锡想在众议院没有面具，他应该开始为他的成员接种疫苗，”哈默尔写道。

周二的某个时候，伯特、泰勒-格林和马西在众议院的井里一起站了几分钟，没有蒙面。马里兰州的民主党众议员杰米·拉斯金走过去与他们交谈。谈话显得亲切。

拉斯金告诉记者，他迫不及待地想在众议院会议期间摘下面具。“我们不能摘下口罩的原因是因为许多共和党人没有接种疫苗，并且拒绝接种，”他说。

周二投票后，几位拒绝戴面具的共和党人聚集在国会大厦外合影。

马西周三表示，他之前已经和新冠肺炎签约，并且已经康复。他说他是“免疫”的，“你知道他们不遵循科学的部分原因是他们不在乎你是否有抗体。”

疾病预防控制中心在其网站上指出，人们应该接种疫苗，即使他们已经有了新冠肺炎。

“那是因为专家们还不知道你从新冠肺炎康复后多久不会再次生病。即使你已经从新冠肺炎康复，也有可能——尽管很少——再次感染导致新冠肺炎的病毒，”疾病预防控制中心说。

马西说，他准备再次测试口罩的要求。

“我不能被罚款陷入贫困，但如果我不愿意花500美元捍卫自由，我就不属于这里，”他说。

罗伊说，如果任何立法者或工作人员有健康问题，他们有能力接种疫苗和戴口罩。与此同时，他说疫苗的可用性和关于其有效性的数据表明，“我们可以在世界上参与进来”，美国人应该看到他们的立法者这样做。

罗伊说:“与一些人的公众观点以及我自己和其他人的漫画相反，我不想，你知道，用核武器摧毁这个地方。”。“我想做的是提出问题，不断地进行反击，并代表我的选民，他们对此感到厌倦。”

泰勒-格林周三再次不带面具出现在众议院。她一整天大部分时间都呆在会议厅里，有时会坐在发言的共和党议员后面的椅子上，这确保了电视观众能看到她。

Republicans rebel against mask requirement in House chamber

WASHINGTON -- Republicans are rebelling against the requirement that they wear a mask on the House floor, stoking tensions with majority Democrats who are refusing to change the rules following updated guidance from federalhealthofficials.

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., led an effort Wednesday to get the Office of the Attending Physician to update its guidance for mask wearing for vaccinated lawmakers and staff while they are in the House chamber and in committee hearing rooms, but Democrats defeated it along a party-line vote of 218-210.

Lawmakers can remove their masks when speaking on the House floor, but otherwise must keep it on when they are in the chamber. There is no requirement for wearing masks in the Senate chamber.

Democratic lawmakers say they are tired of the requirements, too, but they worry that some of their Republican colleagues have declined to be vaccinated and could spread the virus.

Some GOP lawmakers opted to go without a mask during votes Tuesday, with a few taking particular care to stand in the well of the chamber to ensure that spectators, colleagues and C-SPAN’s cameras could not miss them.

Their defiance could come at a financial cost. Lawmakers who refuse to wear masks are subject to a fine of $500 for the first offense. Subsequent offenses can result in a $2,500 fine. In practice, however, the House sergeant-at-arms is providing a warning for the first offense.

Seven lawmakers will be getting such warnings, according to a list obtained by The Associated Press: Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Chip Roy of Texas, Bob Good of Virginia, Louie Gohmert of Texas and Mary Miller of Illinois

Three more had already received a warning and will be fined $500. They are Reps. Brian Mast of Florida, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Beth Van Duyne of Texas. They will be subject to a fine of $2,500 for additional offenses.

McCarthy followed up on their protests with a resolution that stated the mask mandate “hinders the ability of the House to properly and effectively conduct the people’s business.”

The resolution stated that those who have not received the vaccine “pose no real threat to those who have been vaccinated.” And it called on the attending physician of the House to consult with the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and provide updated mask guidelines.

The mask revolt in the House has been brewing for months, with some Republicans chafing at the extra safety precautions imposed during the pandemic and bolstered after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Democrats imposed mask requirements last year when many Republicans, defying public health guidance, refused to wear face coverings.

The complaints from some Republicans have grown louder now that the CDC has altered its mask guidelines, saying it’s safe for fully vaccinated people to skip face coverings and social distancing in virtually all situations.

The CDC guidelines say all people should still wear masks in crowded indoor locations such as airplanes, buses, hospitals and prisons. Lawmakers and others in the Capitol have stopped wearing masks when moving around the building.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said the Office of the Attending Physician has been consistently conferring with the CDC, and as recently as Tuesday. He said new guidance issued Wednesday states the mask requirement is “entirely consistent” with the CDC's recommendations and has ensured that the House can debate and pass legislation safely and effectively.

“If Minority Leader McCarthy wants to be maskless on the Floor of the House of Representatives, he should get to work vaccinating his Members,” Hammill wrote.

At one point Tuesday, Boebert, Taylor-Greene and Massie stood together unmasked for several minutes in the well of the House. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland went over and spoke with them. The conversation appeared cordial.

Raskin told reporters that he can’t wait to take his mask off during House floor proceedings. “The reason we can’t take our masks off is because so many Republicans are not vaccinated and are refusing to do it,” he said.

After Tuesday’s votes, several of the Republicans who declined to wear a mask gathered outside the Capitol for a group picture.

Massie said Wednesday that he had previously contracted COVID-19 and recovered. He said he is “immune” and that “part of the reason you know they’re not following the science here is they don’t care if you have the antibody.”

The CDC states on its website that people should get vaccinated even if they had already had COVID-19.

“That’s because experts do not yet know how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. Even if you have already recovered from COVID-19, it is possible — although rare — that you could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 again,” the CDC says.

Massie said he was prepared to test the mask requirement again.

“I can’t afford to be fined into poverty, but if I’m not willing to spend $500 defending freedom, I don’t belong here,” he said.

Roy said that if any lawmakers or staff members have health concerns, they have the ability to get vaccinated and to wear a mask. Meanwhile, he said the availability of vaccines and the data about their effectiveness shows “that we can engage out in the world” and Americans should see their lawmakers doing that.

“Contrary to some people’s public view and the caricature of myself and others, I’m not looking to, you know, nuke the place,” Roy said. “What I’m looking to do is raise issues, consistently sort of push back and represent my constituents who are tired of this.”

Taylor-Greene took to the House floor again on Wednesday without her mask. She remained in the chamber for much of the day and at times positioned herself in a chair behind the Republican lawmakers who spoke on the floor, which ensured she would be seen by television viewers.