Dozens of House GOP reps urge Pelosi to drop masking rules following revised CDC guidance

Nearly three dozen House GOP representatives this week urged Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to formally drop the House's strict mask mandate, citing recently updated masking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

In the Friday letter, issued from the office of Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs, 34 Republicans "urge[d] [Pelosi] to immediately return to normal voting procedures and end mandatory mask requirements in the House of Representatives."

"CDC guidance states fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting except where required by governmental or workplace mandate," the letter declares. "It is time to update our own workplace regulations. Every member of Congress has had the opportunity to be vaccinated, and you have indicated about 75 percent have taken advantage of this opportunity."

"The United States Congress must serve as a model to show the country we can resume normal life through vaccination," the letter concludes. "Let’s follow the science and get back to work."

Following the CDC's revised mask guidelines this week, multiple state governors as well as multiple national retailers declared they would be loosening their mask rules for vaccinated residents and consumers.