GOP senators decry COVID-19 mandates: ‘It’s about control’
Conrad Hoyt
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Republican senators lambasted the return of mask mandates in some parts of the country, calling those who make such rules “tyrants” and saying, “It’s about control.”
Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) appeared separately on Fox News on Tuesday night and severely criticized Democratic lawmakers, most notably about the possibility of mask mandates returning in the United States due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
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“This is coming back unless we stop it from happening,” Vance told Hannity before noting that he is proposing legislation he hopes will be bipartisan that would ensure mask mandates can not come back to the Senate floor. “They use these mandates to turn one-half [of] the country against the other half. That’s what all tyrants do.”
Paul, who for years has been one of the staunchest critics of mandates concerning the coronavirus, repeated his belief that the government’s restrictions are not primarily enforced due to public health concerns.
“It’s more about control. … They have always had utter disdain for the working class, utter disdain for the regular folks if you don’t have a Ph.D.,” Paul told Jesse Watters Primetime. “They think you’re not smart enough to make your own healthcare decisions, so they have a great deal of love and inspiration that comes from central authority and big government making decisions.”
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The Republican lawmakers’ comments came after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 at her and President Joe Biden’s home in Delaware and the president donned a mask indoors after the result. A Washington D.C.-area elementary school also reportedly demanded that third graders wear an N95 mask after several students tested positive for the virus, before relenting and saying students could choose not to wear them.
“We should never put our kids back into masks,” Paul declared, adding that he is fighting in the Senate to stop the forcing of pages to get vaccinated when “not one healthy child died from COVID.”
Healthcare remained a topic in the senators’ conversations as Paul chastised Democrats for their approach to transgender surgeries in minors.
“Half a dozen European countries have banned it in children because they have a long-term experience and actually discovered after following these people 10, 15, 20 years after the surgery, incidents of suicide is 20 times greater in those who have had the surgery than the general public there,” Paul said. “That is because there are other issues we are dealing with here, psychiatric issues that need to be treated. Instead, we are saying, ‘cut off part of your body,’ which is a terrible approach.”
Vance, who has been critical of Biden’s response to the East Palestine train derailment in his state, voiced his displeasure once more with how the president has treated the people affected.
“I don’t know what it is that Joe Biden [has] done, but he certainly hasn’t been in East Palestine Sean and doing his job,” Vance said. “It’s so important for the president to show some leadership to actually show up and let people know that you care about what they’re going through… There are still health care issues, things that we could be doing better by the people of East Palestine, but it actually requires the president to care about this issue.”
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The president has tested negative for the coronavirus since his wife’s positive result, though he will continue to test this week, the White House said. Jill Biden was said to only be experiencing mild symptoms.
Joe Biden is expected to travel to India on Thursday for the G20 summit.