Marjorie Taylor Greene hit with more fines for going mask-less on House floor

Georgia Republican U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Andrew Clyde continue to rack up fines for violating House rules that require wearing masks on the House floor.

Greene and Clyde were handed multiple fines by the House Ethics Committee on Monday, marking the second week in a row the Republican representatives have been punished for defying rules enacted as a precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement cited Greene with four violations and Clyde with three from late September to early October.

Greene's habitual rule-breaking has cost her $50,000 of her $174,000 salary. Clyde's latest fines of $15,500 bring his total for the year to more than $30,000, including fines for dodging the metal detector screenings outside the House chamber.

Members of the House must pay a $2,500 fine for each repeat violation of not wearing masks on the floor after an initial $500 fine.

Georgia's congressional habitual mask violators have complained about mask and vaccine mandates while downplaying the significance of the health risks of the virus. She called for Dr. Anthony Fauci to lose his salary as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases over his public statements during the coronavirus pandemic.

Greene is challenging the constitutionality of the House rules in federal court, while Clyde sued over the Athens-Clarke County Commission's shelter-in-place ordinance that he said cost him business at his Athens gun shop.

Greene drew a firestorm of criticism this summer for comparing mask mandates and wearing logos promoting vaccinations to the persecution and mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust.

The fines put a dent in Greene's salary, but she often uses publicity from incidents at the Capitol to help raise the millions she stockpiles for her likely campaign for a second term.

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