RIGHT SPEAK: GOP Lawmakers Who Defied Pelosi’s Mask Order Take Battle to Supreme Court: ‘What it has finally come to’; Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt Vows to ‘end COVID tyranny’ of CDC and NIH, and other C-Virus related stories

GOP lawmakers who defied Pelosi’s mask order take battle to Supreme Court: ‘What it has finally come to’:

A trio of Republican lawmakers fined by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) over their refusal to wear masks petitioned the Supreme Court Tuesday to hear their lawsuit after losing in a lower court.

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) argue that the $500 fine imposed on them violated the Constitution’s 27th Amendment — which prohibits compensation changes for members of Congress from taking effect until after the next election cycle.

“The attorneys in our lawsuit against Speaker Pelosi just filed a Petition for Cert at the Supreme Court,” Massie wrote on X. “Pelosi imposed salary reductions on me, [Greene], and [Norman] for our refusal to wear a mask in 2021. At issue: is the 27th amdt. to the Constitution even enforceable?”

“When we filed this lawsuit against Pelosi’s mask mandate, I said we would take it to the Supreme Court if necessary, and that is what it has finally come to,” he added in a separate post.

The US District Court for D.C. dismissed the trio’s lawsuit against Pelosi, former House Sergeant at Arms William Walker and House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor last year.

The court ruled that the former House speaker and officials were immune from lawsuits under the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, which shields lawmakers who are carrying out their duties from lawsuits. --->READ MORE HERE

Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt vows to ‘end COVID tyranny’ of CDC and NIH:

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) introduced a bill Thursday that would give Congress greater oversight of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a copy of the measure exclusively obtained by The Post

The bill, known as the “End COVID Tyranny Act,” would mandate congressional appointment and term limits for the directors of both agencies, as well as require a majority vote by both chambers to approve a public health emergency lasting longer than 90 days.

An advisory committee for the CDC director would also be appointed by Congress and with the approval of the US comptroller general.

The measure would further mandate foreign research labs that receive US government funding to pass quarterly inspections on animal welfare and cleanliness standards.

The legislation comes six months after President Biden ended the COVID public health emergency and national emergency declaration begun under his predecessor, Donald Trump, in March 2020.

Many controversial COVID-era policies bypassed legislative approval, with federal and state authorities unilaterally imposing lockdowns, mask mandates and vaccine passports — only to face criticism and reverse course later.

Much of the frustration focused on conflicting public health advice from figures like NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, who pushed for strict COVID mandates while downplaying theories that the virus had leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China that was engaging in risky gain-of-function research funded by NIH. --->READ MORE HERE