WASHINGTON  – In a tweet, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, referred to Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, as a “complete ass” for complaining about his Republican colleagues not wearing facial masks during a Senate hearing on Monday.

In a clip of the Monday exchange, Brown, speaking to Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, says, “I’d start by asking the presiding officer to please wear a mask as he speaks,” to which Sullivan replies, “I don’t wear a mask when I’m speaking, like most senators. I don’t need your instruction.”

In a tweet sharing a viral clip of the exchange, Cruz wrote, “This is idiotic. @SherrodBrown is being a complete ass. He wears a mask to speak – when nobody is remotely near him – as an ostentatious sign of fake virtue. @DanSullivan_AK was over 50 feet away, presiding. Last I checked 50 feet is more than 6 feet.”

On Tuesday, 87-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who was on the Senate floor when the exchange took place, announced he was exposed to COVID-19 and is self-isolating.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that regardless of symptoms, people take steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including maintaining six feet of distance from others and wearing facial masks in public settings.