GOP lawmaker says his colleague found an elaborate way to evade House mask fines

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) has changed his tax withholding so the House can't collect his mask fines, Clyde's colleague, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), squealed on Wednesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) put in place a mask mandate in June 2020, saying they had to be worn when people were on the House floor. Those who refused to follow through first received a warning, then a $500 fine, and then a $2,500 fine for every additional offense.

CNN reports that Massie, who is suing Pelosi over the mask fine, decided to share how Clyde is getting out of his fines. Clyde owns a firearms business, and Massie said since fines are normally taken from a lawmakers' salary, Clyde "went to payroll and had his federal withholding raised to $11,284 a month. So he only gets $1 of pay." By doing this, the House can't garnish all of Clyde's wages — just the $1.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Massie said Clyde — who famously said footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol assault looked like "a normal tourist visit" — will "have to be elected until 3324 A.D. for Pelosi to collect $15,000 in fines. Then when he files his tax return, he gets all his money back." Clyde's office did not respond to CNN's request for comment, and the House Ethics Committee declined to comment.