President Joe Biden is simply attempting to “extend the misery for Americans” by planning to appeal a federal judge’s decision deeming the Biden administration’s federal mask mandate illegal, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“News of the invalidation of the Biden forced mask requirement by the federal judge in Florida was met with massive cheers and even tears of joy by passengers and flight attendants,” DeSantis said in a statement.
“Now, Biden is appealing this decision so he can reimpose forced masking requirements and extend the misery for Americans,” he continued, adding that the “proper policy is simple: end all mandates!”:
On Wednesday morning, DeSantis added that Biden “needs to drop any appeal attempts” altogether:
President Biden’s Department of Justice on Tuesday announced its intention to appeal the decision of United States District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, appointed under the Trump administration, who deemed the federal mask mandate illegal. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) rule, she wrote in part, “exceeded the CDC statutory authority, improperly invoked the good cause exception to notice and comment rulemaking, and failed to adequately explain its decisions.”
“Because our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in the pursuit of desirable ends, the court declares unlawful and vacates the mask mandate,” Mizelle concluded on Monday.
Because of that, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is not enforcing the rule, and several airlines have made it clear that masks are now optional. However, on Tuesday afternoon, the Biden administration made it known that it is not giving up just yet.
“The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health,” Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said. “That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve.”
Prior to the judge’s ruling, DeSantis described the Biden administration’s extension of the federal mask mandate as “the Biden equivalent of continuing the beatings until morale improves.”