Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s administration over federal rules that mandate mask-wearing in American airports and on airplanes.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) mandate was unlawfully issued. It was not authorized by Congress, and the CDC did not put the mandate up for notice and comment, which is ordinarily required for regulations like this,” Paxton, Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R), and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said in a statement. “Yet a person’s failure to comply with the Administration’s mask mandate carries criminal penalties.”
In a tweet, Paxton noted that Wednesday’s legal action represents his 22nd lawsuit against the Biden administration.
“Just filed my 22nd suit against Biden, this time regarding anti-science, virtue-signaling masks on airlines & airports. Masks on planes are not only silly, but illegal too. Proud to join @TPPF, @robhenneke, @Bethvanduyne in restraining Dems’ lawless gov’t. End the mask mandates!” he wrote.
Presently, the federal mandate is scheduled to end on March 18th, however, as Reuters notes, the rules have been extended on multiple occasions. Face coverings are also still required on trains and buses, according to the mandate.
Director of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, stated this week that her agency will not make modifications to its mask guidance at this time.
“Our hospitalization rates are high.” Walensky said. “Our death rates are still high. So as we work towards that and as we are encouraged by the current trends, we are not there yet.”
Her comments come as Democrat governors across the country are easing mask mandates. New York state registered a 38 percent drop in coronavirus cases last week while Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) finally scrapped the indoor mask rules for businesses, The Journal News reported.