Sherrod Brown Erupts at Sen. Sullivan for Not Wearing a Mask. Here's How He Responded.

Cortney O'Brien | November 17, 2020 9:25 AM

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) maskplained to a GOP senator on Capitol Hill on Monday. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is coming off a fresh re-election victory in Alaska, was presiding over the Senate when Brown interrupted the proceedings to shame the Republican for not wearing a mask.

"I'd start by asking the presiding officer to please wear a mask, as he speaks, and people below him are - I can't tell you what to do but I know that the behavior - " Sen. Brown began.

And Sullivan quickly reacted.

"I don't wear a mask when I'm speaking like most senators so I'll - I don't need your instruction," he shot back.

Very tense moment on the Senate floor

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown scolds GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan for not wearing a mask while presiding over the Senate.

Sullivan snaps back: "I don't need your instruction" and he doesn't wear a mask when he speaks
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) November 16, 2020

"I know you don't need my instruction, but there clearly isn't much interest in this body in public health," Brown continued.

He then went off on a rant about how President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) don't take the coronavirus seriously enough. Trump because he hasn't attended the coronavirus task force meetings, and McConnell because he's forced senators to return to work to vote on judges, "exposing" them to the virus. What he didn't mention is that under Trump and Operation Warp Speed, we now have two highly effective vaccine candidates.

This is idiotic. @SherrodBrown is being a complete ass. He wears a mask to speak—when nobody is remotely near him—as an ostentatious sign of fake virtue.@DanSullivan_AK was over 50 feet away, presiding. Last I checked 50 feet is more than 6 feet. https://t.co/BoIGrAV7T1
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 17, 2020