Pelosi confirms she will be maskless at State of the Union

President Biden's first-ever State of the Union address is rapidly approaching, and of course, Americans can expect him to touch on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — including, presumably, the Centers for Disease Control's updated mask guidance, which advised residents in counties with a low or medium level of community transmission that it was safe to go maskless indoors.

Washington, D.C. currently falls within that low risk category, notes The Hill. What's more, as of Tuesday, the White House lifted its mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals, just in time for the president's hallmark speech, to which all members of Congress were invited, reports The New York Times. Additionally, the Capitol physician on Sunday lifted the House mask mandate, per ABC News (a formal mask requirement was never enforced in the Senate, notes Roll Call).

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.