Biden administration fights to reinstate travel mask mandate in Miami court

MIAMI (FLV) – The Eleventh Circuit of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday as the Biden administration tries to reimpose a mask mandate on planes and other transportation.

In April, a federal judge struck down a mask mandate for public transportation, which led to the CDC to appeal the ruling. The CDC argues that they must have the authority to establish mask mandate rules under quick developing circumstances. The Health Freedom Defense Fund argues that the CDC has no legal authority to adopt a mask mandate.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said “people need to know” that the Biden Administration is attempting to reimpose mask mandates.

“People need to know that @JoeBiden is attempting to reinstate an unlawful mandate forcing passengers as young as two to wear masks on airplanes and other public transportation,” Moody said.

“My attorneys are in court today in Miami fighting back.”

DeSantis proposed legislation to permanently ban COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates at a press conference Tuesday, saying it is “nuts” that the federal government is still trying to impose a mandate.

The governor explained how Biden and his lawyers were in federal court in Miami on Tuesday “trying” to reimpose the mask mandate on airplanes. A district judge “struck down” those mandates last year and DeSantis said “even after all of this, they still wanna put ya back in masks.”

“And even today, Biden and his lawyers at the Department of Justice were in federal court in Miami trying to get reimposed the mask mandate for airline passengers which a district judge had struck down last year. Even after all of this, they still wanna put ya back in masks when you fly on a commercial airline,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis has fiercely stood against mask mandates and lockdowns despite facing criticism. In 2021, he made comments that it is “totally unacceptable” for the government to impose those mandates on parents and kids. In 2022, the governor’s administration filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration for its continuation of the nationwide transportation mask mandate.

“Florida has led the nation in standing up to misguided federal government policies and fighting back against heavy-handed mandates that have no scientific backing,” DeSantis said in March.

DeSantis said that “some of these people just won’t quit” and that Florida “need[s] to continue to lead” by protecting Floridians from mandates. The governor explained that his administration is planning to make “all of these protections permanent” in Florida Statute in the upcoming legislative session.

“But I think what we’re seeing is, some of these people just won’t quit. They’ve imposed mask mandates on school children in some of these enclaves throughout the United States. You still have universities that are forcing these students to get these booster shots even though there have been studies showing they’re at more risk from negative effects of the shot than they are from COVID itself at that age and so, this is just nuts that we’re still doing this. And so, we believe that there’s no turning back from our direction, we need to continue to lead and we need to lead with this by making all of these protections permanent in Florida Statute which we are going to do in the upcoming legislative session,” DeSantis said.