Eric Swalwell erupts at a Marjorie Taylor Greene aide during spat over masks in the Capitol
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) did not mince words when he fired back Friday at an aide to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. According to The Hill, the Greene spokesman, Nick Dyer told Swalwell to remove his mask, and the request erupted into a heated verbal altercation.
Scott Wong, a senior writer for the publication, explained that Dyer told Swalwell that President Joe Biden "says you can take off your mask." The California lawmaker quickly fired back at Dyer, saying, "You don't tell me what to fucking do!"
I saw the altercation but was not close enough to hear Swalwell.— Scott Wong (@Scott Wong) 1621003762
As Wong's tweets began circulating on social media, Swalwell retweeted the account of what happened. According to Swalwell, it all began when one of Greene's aide's yelled at him about wearing a mask.
When Swalwell fired back, the aide was reportedly "speechless." Swalwell, tweeted, "I had a mask on as I stepped off the Floor. An aide with [Marjorie Taylor Greene] yelled at me to take my mask off. No one should be bullied for wearing a mask. So I told the bully what I thought of his order. Predictably, he went speechless. I regret I wasn't more explicit."
I had a mask on as I stepped off the Floor. An aide with @mtgreenee yelled at me to take my mask off. No one should be bullied for wearing a mask. So I told the bully what I thought of his order. Predictably, he went speechless. I regret I wasn\u2019t more explicit.https://twitter.com/scottwongdc/status/1393216641341743112\u00a0\u2026— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@Rep. Eric Swalwell) 1621005679
Greene also tweeted to share her side of the story as she claimed Swalwell "aggressively approached my staffer, got inches from his face, and verbally assaulted him."
She added, "He totally lost control in front of me and Capitol Police."
.@ericswalwell aggressively approached my staffer, got inches from his face, and verbally assaulted him.\n\nHe totally lost control in front of me and Capitol Police.https://twitter.com/scottwongdc/status/1393216641341743112\u00a0\u2026— Marjorie Taylor Greene \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Marjorie Taylor Greene \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1621005455
The Georgia lawmaker's remarks to Swalwell came just one day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that all fully-vaccinated individuals are no longer required to wear face coverings in or outdoors regardless of gathering sizes. During the COVID-19 pandemic briefing held at the White House on Thursday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky offered an update on masks.
"If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic," Walensky said. "We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy."
While Biden did promote this advice on Thursday, he also denounced behavior like Dyer's.
"Be patient with one another. You know, some may say, 'I just feel more comfortable continuing to wear a mask.' They may feel that way," Biden said. "Please treat them with kindness and respect."
