Republican Congressman Criticizes COVID-19 Restrictions, Calls On His State To ‘Unmask’

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., criticized COVID-19 safety restrictions and called on his state to “unmask” in a series of tweets this week.

"It’s time for a new approach in AZ, one that values & protects all life. We must give hope to the public & set forth a plan to reopen the economy & remove oppressive gov't restrictions,” Biggs tweeted Wednesday. “Right now, the cure for COVID-19 has proved worse than the disease itself.”

“Government bureaucrats have taken enough freedoms away from us. No more,” he wrote in another post earlier in the week, adding the hashtag #UnMaskArizona.

In early July, Biggs called on the White House to disband its coronavirus task force. He made the comments after the Labor Department reported that 4.8 million jobs were added in June, with the unemployment rate falling to 11.1%.

“As our economy is restored, it is imperative that President Trump is not undermined in his mission to return our economy to greatness. Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx continue to contradict many of President Trump’s stated goals and actions for returning to normalcy as we know more about the COVID-19 outbreak,” Biggs said in a statement, adding “It’s time for the COVID-19 task force to be disbanded so that President Trump’s message is not mitigated or distorted.”

In July, there were as many as 4,000 new daily COVID-19 cases in Arizona. Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, ordered the state’s bars, gyms and theaters to reclose in late June due to a spike in cases.

Biggs, a staunch ally of President Trump, is the chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and began his congressional career in January 2017.

Biggs, 61, represents a district just outside Phoenix. He has publicly dismissed scientific consensus on climate change.