The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated it will appeal the ruling lifting the mask mandate on public transit after a getting request from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC requested the DOJ appeal a ruling by District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of Florida’s middle district that stated the mask mandate exceeds the CDC’s statutory authority under the Administration Procedure Act, according to a CDC statement.
“To protect CDC’s public health authority beyond the ongoing assessment announced last week, CDC has asked DOJ to proceed with an appeal in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc., et al., v. Biden, et al.,” the statement said. “It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary.”
New Statement on Mask Mandate Ruling pic.twitter.com/SwYHIqTG2e
— Anthony Coley (@AnthonyColeyDOJ) April 19, 2022
Health Freedom Defense Fund initially challenged the mandate in July 2021. The CDC statement said the agency believes the mask mandate on transportation to be lawful and “well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health.”
Mizelle’s ruling stated that the CDC’s mask requirement failed to adequately explain the mask’s effectiveness to keep something clean as “it neither ‘sanitizes’ the person wearing the mask nor ‘sanitizes’ the conveyance.” (RELATED: Federal Mask Mandate For Public Transportation Overturned By District Judge)
She declared the mask mandate fell outside of the federal regulation for sanitation used to justify the CDC’s mask requirement, since the agency couldn’t explain how a mask “actively destroys or removes” COVID-19.