Marjorie Taylor Greene will have to pay for defying mask rules after Ethics Committee slaps down her appeal

On Tuesday, Forbes reported that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has lost an appeal to the House Ethics Committee against a $500 fine levied for her repeated refusal to wear a mask on the House floor.

Greene was among several other Republican lawmakers who received and contested such fines, including Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ralph Norman (R-SC). The panel, which is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, made similar judgments last month against Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX).

In her appeal, Greene argued that "those who are vaccinated… [or have] overcome COVID-19 are conferred immunity to the virus."

In reality, while the vaccines reduce the odds of transmission, mild breakthrough infections are possible, particularly with the Delta variant, which can still cause transmission. She also argued that four out of the five Democratic members of the Ethics Committee should recuse themselves because they co-sponsored a resolution to expel her from the House.

The committee did not buy any of these arguments.

Greene has not revealed publicly her vaccination status. In an interview today, she falsely claimed that HIPAA, a major U.S. medical privacy law, prohibits people from asking her whether she has been vaccinated.