Rep. Louie Gohmert says he may have contracted the coronavirus because he wore a mask, despite the fact that he regularly refused to wear masks

• Rep. Louie Gohmert suggested he contracted the coronavirus because he wore a face mask, even though he's regularly refused to wear a mask.
• "When I have a mask on, I'm moving it to make it comfortable, and I can't help but wonder if that put some germs in the mask," Gohmert said.
• Gohmert was regularly seen not wearing a mask or social distancing from staffers and colleagues while on the House floor and in and around the Capitol.
• He tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican, suggested he contracted the coronavirus because he wore a face mask, despite the fact that he's refused to wear a mask while not social distancing from others around the Capitol.

"When I have a mask on, I'm moving it to make it comfortable, and I can't help but wonder if that put some germs in the mask," Gohmert said in a video he posted on social media announcing his positive test results.

Gohmert was regularly seen not wearing a mask or social distancing from staffers and colleagues while on the House floor and in and around the Capitol. He tested positive for the virus at the White House on Wednesday.

Overwhelming scientific evidence has shown that face masks significantly reduce the chance of a person spreading or being infected by the coronavirus. Dr. Anthony Fauci and other public-health and infectious-disease experts have repeatedly stressed that all Americans should wear masks when they cannot social distance and when they're in indoor places outside the home.

—Louie Gohmert (@replouiegohmert) July 29, 2020

Gohmert has defended not wearing a mask even when he's not able to socially distance. In an interview with CNN last month, he said he'd regularly wear a face covering only if he contracted the virus.

"I don't have the coronavirus. Turns out, as of yesterday, I've never had it," he said. "But if I get it, you'll never see me without a mask."

Politico reported on Wednesday that a Gohmert aide said the congressman required his entire staff to work in person from his congressional office and suggested that Gohmert "berated" staffers for wearing masks.

The 66-year-old congressman was planning to fly to Texas on Wednesday morning with President Donald Trump but tested positive twice during a screening beforehand at the White House. Gohmert informed his congressional staff of his diagnosis during an in-person meeting on Wednesday morning, Politico's Jake Sherman said on Twitter.

—Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 29, 2020