Nancy Pelosi, Done F–king Around, Calls Kevin McCarthy a “Moron” for Opposing Mask Mandates

Almost a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re probably feeling pretty frustrated. Frustrated that life still isn’t back to normal. Frustrated that cases are surging again. Frustrated that you can’t plan for the future. And frustrated, increasingly, with the people in your life and around the country who still, even after the deaths of more than 611,000 people in the United States, won’t take the virus seriously or do the things necessary to stop it in its tracks.

Maybe, initially, you tried to be understanding. Attempted, as best you could, to see it from their perspective. Probably now though, you’re pissed. And you don‘t feel like being understanding anymore or seeing it from their “perspective,” and what you really want to do is scream, “Jesus fucking Christ, what is wrong with you people?” And when they go to answer, yell, “I wasn’t actually asking!” If that sounds at all familiar, and you’re on the verge of snapping, or have already snapped, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi feels the exact same way.

Per CNN:

Nancy Pelosi called House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy a “moron” after being asked by a reporter about his criticism of the Capitol physician’s mask mandate in the House, another sign of the souring relationship between the two House party leaders. “He’s such a moron,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, said while getting into her SUV outside the Capitol, when asked about the House minority leader. Her insult came in response to McCarthy’s criticism in a tweet of new mask mandates in which he said, “Make no mistake—The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state.”

Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill quickly followed up Pelosi’s initial comments in a tweet, “Unfortunately, we can’t verify this audio because of poor quality, but I can confirm that the Speaker believes that saying a mask requirement is ‘not a decision based on science’ is moronic.”

McCarthy‘s mask commentary, and Pelosi’s response, came after the Capitol attending physician sent a memo on Tuesday including guidance that all people, regardless of vaccination, should be wearing masks indoors; the memo noted that such guidance is mandatory in the House. “For all House Office Buildings, the Hall of the House, and House Committee Meetings, wearing of a well-fitted, medical grade, filtration face mask is required when an individual is in an interior space and other individuals are present,” it read. “To be clear, for meetings in an enclosed U.S. House of Representatives controlled space, masks are REQUIRED.”

Republican lawmakers, most of whom never took the coronavirus seriously and don’t plan to now even as the much more contagious delta variant has caused an increase in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, have reacted to the mask mandate in a typically hysterical fashion. Representative Lauren Boebert reportedly threw a mask at a House floor staffer who offered her one after she appeared on the floor without a protective covering. Representative Chip Roy tried, unsuccessfully, to adjourn Congress and shut down the government in protest.

The House’s mask mandate comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged all people, vaccinated or not, to wear masks indoors in COVID-19 hotspots. Donald Trump, who spent most of his last year in office undermining masking guidelines, issued a statement on Tuesday saying, “We won’t mask our children” and “Don’t surrender to COVID! Don’t go back!” In case anyone was worried that he’d suddenly decided to be helpful.

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Jared Kushner to deprive nation of his political savvy

The former first son-in-law is taking his “hidden genius” elsewhere. Per Reuters:

Jared Kushner, a top adviser to former president Donald Trump, plans to launch an investment firm in coming months, a move that will take him away from politics for the foreseeable future, sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday. Kushner, the former chief executive of Kushner Companies, who served as the Republican president’s senior adviser in the White House, is in the final stages of launching an investment firm called Affinity Partners that will be headquartered in Miami.

Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, is also looking to open an office in Israel to pursue regional investments to connect Israel’s economy and India, North Africa, and the Gulf, said two people briefed on the plan, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The sources had no details about potential investors and said the firm was still in the planning phase.

When most people think about Kushner and his assorted fuckups, they think of the numerous ways in which he hurt the U.S. politically. But it’s important remember that he wasn’t actually very good at the whole “businessman” thing either, having famously purchased an aging Midtown skyscraper for $1.8 billion on the eve of the financial crisis, which became an albatross around his family business’s neck until it was coincidentally bailed out by a company with a major stakeholder that happened to be a country in the Middle East that may have been looking to curry favor with the White House. Also, he was basically a slumlord.

GOP congressman sticking with claim that 1/6 insurrection looked like a normal tourist visit to him

In May, Representative Andrew Clyde boldly and insanely offered that “There was no insurrection and to call it an insurrection, in my opinion, is a bold-faced lie. Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes taking videos and pictures. You know, if you didn’t know the TV footage was a video from January 6, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.” And apparently he’s sticking with that story.

Elsewhere!

Democrats craft revised voting rights bill, seeking to keep hopes alive in the Senate (Washington Post)

The Secret Source Who Helped Fuel Trump’s Big Lie (New Yorker)

Pandemic Aid Programs Spur a Record Drop in Poverty (NYT)

Trump tries to sabotage the Biden infrastructure deal (Politico)

Senators Eye Cryptocurrency Taxes to Fund Infrastructure Plan (Bloomberg)

Morgan Stanley Joins Rivals in $100,000 Junior Banker Salary (Bloomberg)

Robinhood Is Targeting a $35 Billion IPO (Bloomberg)

Brad Pitt look-alike says it’s impossible to date as a doppelgänger (NYP)

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