Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Blasts Gov. Greg Abbot for Lifting Mask Mandate
Published Date: 3/5/2021
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to end a statewide mask mandate is turning into as big a political disaster for the Republican as its implementation was eight months ago. The move, announced over bowls of guacamole and chips in a Mexican restaurant in Lubbock on Tuesday, was immediately assailed by Democrats as an attempt to distract Texans from the sweeping blackouts that killed dozens and caused billions of dollars in damage just two weeks ago. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, the Democrat who leads the state’s largest city, decried the lifting of the mask order and other anti-virus restrictions as an attempt to deflect from “systemwide state leadership failure” over the storms and urged Abbott’s fellow Republicans who control the state legislature to blunt the governor’s emergency powers. U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration was pleading with the states not to relax Covid-19 limits even before Abbott moved, took the criticism up a notch, calling it “Neanderthal thinking” and “the last thing — the last thing — we need.” Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake