Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz declared he will no longer wear a mask inside the Capitol or on the Senate floor.
Cruz cited the vaccinations of himself and fellow Senators as his reason for refusing to wear a mask to protect his colleagues, visitors, press or people testifying before Congress.
He made this declaration during an interview with CNN.
"At this point I've been vaccinated. Everybody working in the Senate has been vaccinated."
"CDC has said in small groups, particularly with people who were vaccinated don't need to wear masks."
Except not everyone in the Capitol has been vaccinated and that is not, in fact, what the CDC is recommending.
Current CDC recommendation is to wear a mask and practice social distancing measures even if you have been vaccinated. These measures are recommended until more is known about how the vaccine affects someone's ability to spread the virus.
Exceptions to this include visiting:
"inside a home or private setting without a mask with other fully vaccinated people of any age."
The U.S. Capitol and Senate chambers are a far cry from a "private setting," though.
This is not the first time Cruz has shown blatant disregard for public health during the pandemic either. The Senator flew to Cancun with his family during the severe cold weather and widespread power outages in his home state earlier this year.
The internet was quick to give its disdain for Cruz's attitude towards masks.
While Cruz seems okay with disregarding measures put in place to keep himself and his colleagues safe from the virus, most Senators have chosen to follow them.
The lone exception is Kentucky's Rand Paul—also a Republican—who has continually refused to wear a mask throughout the pandemic.
