Nearly two dozen states are suing the Biden administration over its mask mandate on public transportation, including on flights.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in a U.S. District Court in Florida, the twenty-one attorneys general argue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which sets the mask policy, is overreaching its statutory authority and violating state laws which require notice and public comment periods on these types of regulations. They also point out that other similar guidelines handed down by the CDC, such as the agency’s eviction moratorium and shutting down the cruise industry, were thrown out by courts.
Gov. DeSantis announces a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s continuation of the transportation mask mandate. https://t.co/tiu5F1NaGA
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 29, 2022
The Biden administration implemented the travel mandate Feb. 1, 2021, shortly after coming into office. It has not been updated since, and no public comment has been allowed on the policy at any point. The CDC and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced an extension of the mandate March 10 until at least April 18, despite the CDC recently relaxing mask guidance and all 50 states ending their indoor mask mandates.
Airplanes remain one of the safest indoor environments an individual can be from an air quality standpoint, due to the hospital-grade air filters used on the overwhelming majority of American commercial flights to recycle air. The U.S. Senate recently voted to end the transportation mask mandate themselves, but the bill faces little prospect of passing a Democrat-controlled House or being signed by President Joe Biden. (RELATED: Airline CEOs Demand End To Biden’s Mask Mandate)
The attorneys general suing the administration are from Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. All 21 are Republicans.