Pelosi calls McCarthy a “moron” for criticizing the mask mandate

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“He’s a moron,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, said while riding in her SUV outside the Capitol, when asked about the House minority leader.

Her insult came in response to McCarthy’s criticism in a new tweet regarding the mask mandates in which he said: “Make no mistake – threatening to return masks is not a science-based decision, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue living in a perpetual pandemic.”

Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hamill, quickly continued in a tweet, “Unfortunately, we cannot verify this audio due to poor quality, but I can confirm that the speaker thinks saying the mask requirement is not a science-based decision is stupid.”

“For all House office buildings, the House Auditorium, and House Committee meetings, a well-stocked, medical-grade face mask is required, when the individual is in an indoor space and other individuals are present,” the memo said. “To be clear, for meetings in an enclosed space controlled by the US House of Representatives, masks are required.”

The far right is openly rebelling against the mask

Some Republicans — especially those on the far right and allied with former President Donald Trump — have begun to criticize Pelosi, blaming her for the mandate, and refusing to wear masks on the ground. Their rebellion against House rules is the latest example of health officials’ politicizing recommendations related to the coronavirus.

Members who do not wear a mask are subject to a fine of $500, according to House rules. The House mandate follows the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new recommendation on Tuesday that all Americans should disguise themselves indoors, regardless of vaccination status, in areas with “high” or “substantial” transmission of Covid-19.

On Wednesday, GOP Representative Lauren Poubert of Colorado threw a mask at a floor worker when she was shown one while trying to walk on the floor without a mask, according to a witness account relayed to CNN.

Texas Representative Chip Roy, a Republican who declined to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against Covid-19 in a CNN poll published last week, called the House mask rules “utterly ridiculous.”

GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia and Andy Biggs of Arizona were also seen on the House floor without a mask on Wednesday morning.

Trump has consistently undermined masking guidelines throughout his presidency, and on Tuesday continued to stoke anger over mask use in a statement that said “We will not hide our children” and “Don’t give in to COVID. Don’t come back!”

Relationship on the rocks

While Pelosi and McCarthy have never been close, their relationship has completely deteriorated recently amid the fallout from the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

When CNN asked Pelosi on Tuesday to weigh in on McCarthy saying he did not watch the first session of the select committee on Tuesday, Pelosi replied, “Anytime you mention his name, you won’t get an answer from me. Don’t waste my time.”

This comes a week after a phone call between Pelosi and McCarthy in which the spokesman informed him that she would reject two of his selections for the House Special Committee. A source familiar with the matter said voices were up, and McCarthy protested, hinting that the decision might come back to haunt her.

“What you’re doing is unprecedented,” McCarthy told Pelosi, according to another source familiar with the call.

“The unprecedented nature of January 6 demands this unprecedented resolution,” Pelosi said, noting that adding GOP Reps Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio to the committee would undermine the impartiality of the investigation.

This story was updated with additional developments on Wednesday.

CNN’s Melanie Zanona and Manu Raju contributed to this report.

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