Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst is writing to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to ask it not to appeal a court ruling which struck down the nationwide travel mask mandate last week.
President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice reportedly plans to appeal a decision from a Florida judge, who last week ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not have the authority to impose a mask mandate on public transportation. Ernst calls the mandate “overly burdensome” and “inconsistent” with the repeal of local and state mask mandates in a letter to the DOJ first obtained by the Daily Caller.
“Oftentimes, travelers are able to decide whether to wear face masks while at their originating site, and destination,
and are only forced to wear face masks while traveling between the two,” Ernst writes. “Moreover, President Biden recognized the legitimacy of the District Court’s ruling by commenting that it is now “up to [travelers]” to decide whether or not to wear a face mask.”
Letter to Doj on Mask Mandate Appeal by Dylan Housman on Scribd
“As cities across the United States continue to fully reopen, I respectfully request that the Biden Administration withdraw their appeal.”
Ernst also requested a written response within 30 days to Congress to questions regarding the effectiveness of the mask mandate as well as the criteria used to keep it in place. (RELATED: Corporate Media Goes Into Full Panic Mode After Travel Mask Mandate Ends)
The Iowa Republican isn’t the only senator to point out inconsistencies surrounding the mask mandate. Elected officials in both parties have pointed out that the Biden administration is continuing to enforce pandemic policies in areas like transportation, while ending them at the southern border with the end of Title 42 enforcement.
It was initially unclear whether or not the Biden administration would challenge the ruling from Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a Trump appointee in Florida’s middle district court. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top medical advisor to the president, said that the judicial system had no place in reining in the CDC, and that whether a mask mandate was actually legal was immaterial because the issue is about public health.