As he took the floor to rail against Federal Reserve nominee Judith Shelton, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) first took aim at Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who was presiding over the Senate on Monday evening. Before he began his remarks on Shelton, Brown said: “I start by asking the presiding officer to wear a mask.”

“I don’t wear a mask when I’m speaking,” Sullivan retorted, a rare response from the senator presiding over the Senate. “I don’t need your instruction.”

Brown said the moment was emblematic of a Senate where “there isn’t much interest … in public health.”