Republicans Refused to Wear Face Masks During Barr Hearing and the Democratic Chairman Just Called Them Out

The highly anticipated testimony of Attorney General William Barr on his work for President Donald Trump was held on Tuesday, but it looked quite different than the setup of other high profile congressional hearings during this time last year.

In the wake of the pandemic, the viewing area was largely empty, with the exception of other members of the Judiciary Committee. Hand sanitizer and other hygiene products were in view.

And House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) announced at the beginning that he expected each member of Congress to wear a mask during the proceedings, except for when they're speaking.

It wasn't long into the hearing before Nadler reprimanded Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-OH), Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) for not wearing their masks as CDC guidelines recommend.

Watch below.

Nadler said:

"I would remind Mr. Jordan, Mr. Biggs and Mr. Johnson to stop violating the rules of the committee, to stop violating the safety of the members of the committee, to stop holding themselves out as not caring by refusing to wear their masks."

One member laughingly asked if it was permissible to drink coffee, to which Nadler replied, "It is not permissible."

The GOP representatives were accused of dismissing the importance of masks, similarly to President Donald Trump.

Calls for Americans to wear masks have grown in the absence of a nationwide mask mandate that many experts say would help stop the virus in its tracks.

Medical experts have assured that collectively wearing masks can significantly slow person to person transmission.