Boca Raton Democratic Senator Tina Polsky asked Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to wear a mask in her office last week and when he refused, she asked him to leave and he did not.
Polsky was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is starting radiation treatment.
There is no mask mandate in the Senate but senators and staff can request masking in their own offices.
Florida State Senator Tina Polsky is a #Democrat. She was recently diagnosed w/breast cancer & is starting radiation treatment.
She asked #Republican @GovRonDeSantis' Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo to don a mask when he came to her office: He refused.https://t.co/BSsHs5iUaU— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) October 24, 2021
When he was appointed, Dr. Ladapo said “deciding for people what they should do with their own bodies is wrong.”
Republican Senate President Wilton Simpson defended Polsky this weekend, and he called Ladapo’s conduct unprofessional. In a letter to senators, he adds that while there’s no mask mandate in the Senate, senators and staff can request masking in their own offices, and if visitors fail to respect those requests, they will be asked to leave.