Pelosi says McCarthy is ‘such a moron’ in response to his criticism of the House mask mandate

• Pelosi called McCarthy a "moron" over his criticism of a reimposed mask mandate in the House.
• McCarthy said the mask mandate, which comes from the Capitol's attending physician, is against science.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday referred to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as a "moron" in response to his criticism of the House reinstituting a mask mandate.

The Capitol's attending physician reimposed the mandate as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads across the US, and as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance on wearing masks in response to the threat.

Pelosi told reporters the mandate is the "the purview of the Capitol physician … nothing to say except we honor it."

When a reporter noted that McCarthy said the mask mandate is against science, the House Speaker can be heard in a video clip saying: "He's such a moron."

-Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) July 28, 2021

Drew Hammill, the House Speaker's deputy chief of staff, addressed Pelosi's remarks on the GOP leader in a tweet.

"Unfortunately, we can't verify this audio because of poor quality, but I can confirm that the Speaker believes that saying a mask requirement is 'not a decision based on science' is moronic," Hammill said.

This article will be updated.