A trio of Republican lawmakers fined by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for refusing to wear masks asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to hear their lawsuit after losing in a lower court.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and Ralph Norman (R-SC) argue that the $500 fine imposed on them violated the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits changes compensation for members of Congress. come into force until after the next electoral cycle.
“The attorneys for our lawsuit against Speaker Pelosi just filed a Petition for Certification in the Supreme Court,” Massie wrote in X. “Pelosi imposed salary reductions on me, [Greene]and [Norman] for our refusal to wear a mask in 2021. At issue: it is the 27th amendment. Can the Constitution even be enforced?”
“When we filed this lawsuit against Pelosi’s mask mandate, I said we would take it to the Supreme Court if necessary, and that’s what it ultimately came to,” he added in a separate post.
Massie and Greene dismissed warning letters Pelosi sent them about not wearing masks in 2021. AP
The U.S. District Court for D.C. last year dismissed the trio’s lawsuit against Pelosi, former House Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker and House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor.
The court ruled that the former House speaker and officials had immunity from lawsuits under the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, which protects lawmakers performing their duties from lawsuits.
The dismissal was upheld by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year.
“If we accept the logic applied by the lower courts, the 27th Amendment to the Constitution is unenforceable and therefore dead,” Massie said in a statement provided to The Post.
“We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will hear our petition, because the lower courts’ effective nullification of the 27th Amendment creates a serious constitutional issue that must be resolved,” the Kentucky Republican added.
Lawmakers argue that the fines violated the 27th Amendment. fake images
Pandemic-era rules on masking implemented by Pelosi required House members to keep their faces covered in the chamber except when speaking during debates. Failure to comply with the rule would result in a fine of $500 for a first violation and $2,500 for a second violation.
In 2021, Massie tweeted an image of a warning letter he received from Pelosi about mask rules lying in his office trash can.
“Just presented [Pelosi’s] letter warning me to follow your mask rule,” he wrote at the time.
Similarly, Taylor Greene posted a video of her putting her letter through a shredder.
“You can’t discriminate against people just because they don’t want to wear a mask,” he said in the video, “and today I refused to wear a mask in the House of Representatives and received a warning from Speaker Pelosi that leads to fines if I still refuse to wear a mask. Well, this is what I think of her warning, Speaker Pelosi.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn