Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told Newsmax Wednesday that "blue states are feeling pressure" to lift their COVID-19 mask mandates and get back to life as usual.
"Well, I think it's clear that Gov. DeSantis in Florida started a trend," the Colorado Republican told Newsmax’s "National Report."
"His state has been open, his economy has been stronger than many of the blue state economies."
Following DeSantis’ lead, Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order within hours of being sworn into office, allowing parents to decide if their children wear masks in school.
"I think it's very popular in Virginia to reduce or eliminate the mask mandates, and, as a result, the blue states are feeling pressure," Buck said.
Citizens of blue states are "seeing people who are enjoying the freedoms of really what we felt pre-COVID," he said.
"I think that the blue states that want to improve their economies, that want to reduce unemployment, that want to improve production, are going to move in this direction," the congressman added.
On Monday, Democrat New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced that masks will no longer be required in schools and daycares, as of March 7, NBC News reported. Murphy is known as a proponent of strict COVID measures.
Not long after, officials in Connecticut, Oregon and Delaware went public with their plans to drop school mask mandates.
Reacting to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau telling reporters that COVID mandates are a way of avoiding further restrictions, Buck said his answer made no sense.
"It's the most illogical answer I've heard in a long time, that somehow if we restrict people more, we're going to give them more freedom," he said. "It's clear that masks don't work. People that are vaccinated are catching COVID and wearing masks, so, the lockdowns, the vaccines, the masks may have been helpful, but they certainly aren't a strong deterrent to this disease, and we're going to have to go on with our lives."
Trudeau has had his hands full in recent days, as a convoy of truckers has shut down the nation’s capital city of Ottawa, protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other coronavirus measures enacted by the government.
Buck also spoke about the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, which he co-sponsored in the House.
"I think it's an important bill," he said. "What it does is it gives victims of rape, victims of sexual harassment, the opportunity to go to court or to go to arbitration."
"It puts pressure on corporate America to make sure that they don't hire predators, that they make the workplace safer, and, at the same time, it gives these victims the ability to choose the form for their lawsuits," he added.
The bill, which passed the House 335 to 97, now heads to the Senate for a vote.
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