‘Our Kids Are in Crisis’: GOP Energy and Commerce Leader Calls for End to Child Masking

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) testifies during a Republican-led forum on the origins of the COVID-19 virus at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.), a GOP leader on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, called for an end to mask mandates for children on Thursday, noting the negative influence these mandates have on children’s mental health and social development.

McMorris Rogers’ statement comes after a coalition of 40 school district superintendents in eastern Washington signed a letter urging a “substantial relaxation” of mask mandates and other CCP virus measures.