Biden Interior Secretary Breaks New Mexico Governor Mask Mandates

U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommi
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland broke New Mexico’s mask mandate over the weekend, holding a wedding ceremony at Santa Ana Pueblo’s Hyatt Regency Tamaya attended by the likes of Democrats Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS), photos of the event reveal.

Haaland wed Skip Sayre over the weekend in New Mexico. U.S. Department of the Interior Press Secretary Tyler Cherry confirmed the ceremony in a statement to Native News Online and asserted that “guests were required to be vaccinated and wear masks.”

“Secretary Deb Haaland celebrated her union with longtime partner Skip Sayre at a ceremony in her home state of New Mexico on Saturday night,” Cherry told the outlet.

“Consistent with CDC guidance and New Mexico’s public health orders, guests were required to be vaccinated and wear masks. The Secretary’s dress was designed and sewn by her sister and the ceremony included traditional elements to honor her ancestry,” he added.

However, photos of the event show Haaland, Sayre, and guests such as Sen. Warren going maskless, despite Cherry’s assertions. One photo also shows Rep. Davids forgoing a mask as well.

The maskless moments are in direct violation of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) recent order, requiring masks to be worn in indoor public spaces regardless of vaccination status. The order, which applies to those two and older, went into effect on August 20. Exceptions include when an individual is eating or drinking — neither of which Haaland or Warren were doing in the maskless photos published by Piñon Post.

According to the outlet, staffers at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya, where the event took place, said masks are, in fact, required in indoor areas.

Earlier this month, Haaland participated in a U.S. Department of the Interior video in which she attempted to connect with Americans over the frustration of remasking.

“Having to put a mask back on again, even though I’m vaccinated, to protect those who haven’t been… and I understand if you’re feeling a bit deflated too,” she said.

“We have all worked hard to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities from this terrible pandemic,” she continued.

“Though many people are vaccinated, our country still faces increased rates of COVID-19 infections and more aggressive variants. To help fight this devastating disease, we are following CDC guidance and putting our masks back on,” she added in the August 4 video:

Watch: 

This is far from the first time pro-maskers have been caught violating their own purported standards. Last year, a maskless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made waves after getting a wash and blowout at a salon in San Francisco while the city remained shuttered by coronavirus restrictions.

President Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry was also spotted, maskless, on a commercial flight earlier this year, although he denied the claim as “malarky”:

More recently, in July, maskless Democrat members of the Texas State Legislature smiled joyously as they fled from Texas to Washington, DC, to protest the state GOP’s election integrity efforts. Several of the members later tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus, including Texas State Rep. Donna Howard (D), a fully vaccinated lawmaker who called for “universal mask-wearing” in Texas.

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