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On Monday, April 18, US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle overruled guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding facial coverings on airplanes and other public transportation.
According to the judge, the CDC overstepped its authority in ruling that masks be required for travelers, stating that the agency failed to adequately explain its reasons for the mandate.
Mizelle determined that the mandate violated the Administrative Procedure Act by being outside the scope of the CDC's authority, was "arbitrary" and "capricious" and did not go through the required notice and comment period for federal rulemaking.
“The context of (the statute) indicates that ‘sanitation’ and ‘other measures’ refer to measures that clean something, not ones that keep something clean," Mizelle wrote. "Wearing a mask cleans nothing."
The judge was appointed by the former president in 2020 before his election loss to now-President Joe Biden.
The CDC had recently extended the mask order for an additional 15 days, through Tuesday, May 3, citing an uptick in recent sub-variants of the COVID-19 virus.
Since early April, there have been increases in the seven-day moving average of cases in the US, the CDC said in a statement shared on social media.
“In order to assess the potential impact of the rise of hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity, the CDC order will remain in place at this time," the statement said.
The chief executive officers of all the major airlines also called on the Biden administration last month to ditch the mask mandate because the requirement did not reflect the current environment and trajectory of the virus.
“It makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools and at sporting events without masks, despite none of these venues having the protective air filtration system that aircraft do,” the letter from the CEOs said.
Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, tweeted that airports and travel should be at the core of the CDC’s legal authority to prevent the spread of disease.
“This is both a big deal and a truly preposterous (nationwide) injunction,” he posted. “The CDC’s statutory authority is specifically directed at preventing the spread of communicable diseases across state lines.
“Where else is such spread more likely to occur than transport hubs like airports?”
The ruling can be appealed by authorities, though there is expected to be minor confusion in the short term for travelers and within transportation hubs.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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