'Shut this place down!' GOP congressman has a meltdown on the House floor over mask mandate

Texas Republican Congressman Chip Roy went on a wild rant on the House floor on Wednesday morning, calling for the House to "shut down" in response to a reinstated requirement that members wear masks.

Roy's tirade came shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy a "moron" for opposing the congressional mask mandate, and Colorado Republican Congressman Lauren Boebert reportedly threw a mask back at a floor staffer who tried to give her one. It also came a day after three House Republicans announced a lawsuit against Speaker Nancy Pelosi for levying fines against them for refusing to wear masks previously.

"We have a crisis at our border and we're playing footsie with mask mandates in the people's house," Roy said. "It's absolutely absurd what this body is doing. It's an embarrassment, a mockery, and the American people are fed up, they want to go back to life, they want to go back to business, they want to go back to school without their children being forced to wear masks (and) put in the corner (because they) have mental health issues, and we're running around here, and the speaker comes down here at 10 o'clock in the morning saying we've got to wear masks, in the people's House. When we've got thousands of people coming across our border, and Democrats don't do a darn thing about it, heavily infected with COVID.

"We are absolutely sick and tired of this, and so are the American people. This sham of an institution is doing nothing for the American people, nothing for the betterment of the people that sent their representatives here," Roy added. "Which is it, vaccines or masks? Do the vaccines work or they don't work? Do the masks work or they don't work? I'd like to know which it is. I'd like Dr. Fauci to come down and answer a single question about natural immunity. You've been infected with the virus, you have immunity. …Or are they just going to go around poking people, saying you must take a vaccine? Oh but sorry the vaccine doesn't work, you must wear a mask. This institution is a sham, and we should adjourn and shut this place down."

Roy's speech drew applause from Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the plaintiffs in the mask lawsuit against Pelosi.

Watch Roy's speech and check out some reactions below.