The Justice Department on Wednesday announced that it has filed a federal appeal on the ban on United States President Joe Biden's mask mandate for public transportation as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to recommend the use of masks.
In the statement, the health agency said that it is the continuing assessment at the time that Biden's order requiring the usage of face masks while inside indoor transportation corridors are still necessary for public health. The CDC said that it will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether or not such an order will remain necessary in the future.
Appeal on Mask Mandate Ban
The CDC said that the mask mandate was a lawful order that was well within the agency's legal authority that aims to protect public health. In the wake of Federal Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle's Monday ruling, the DOJ had already considered whether or not to fight the decision in court.
The judge's decision caught much of the administration, airline industry, local public transit departments, and every American off-guard. The DOJ's appeal means that the federal government will head to a higher court to extend the mask mandate despite many airlines and public transit systems already removing the restriction, as per CNN.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11 Circuit will be responsible for hearing the appeal and has a conservative bent. This means that the case could later end up before the Supreme Court if no decision is made beforehand. If the ruling that removes the mask mandate is upheld, it could permanently weaken the CDC's authority.
Even in the possibility of the Biden administration winning the appeal, there will be much backlash from Americans who have celebrated the lifting of the mandate. The order has been in place since shortly after Biden took office last January and was extended multiple times, the latest being a May 3 deadline.
Face Masks in the U.S.
According to the New York Times, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday evening that the appeal was crucial for preserving the CDC's future public health authority. In an interview with Chris Wallace, Psaki said that the appeal was important for two reasons: the order was entirely reasonable and it was a fight to ensure the CDC"s authority and ability to put in mandates.
The situation comes as the federal ruling dealt a huge blow to an industry that built dozens of small U.S. mask factories during the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic. The chief executive of Armbrust American, Lloyd Armbrust, said that the federal government never really supported mask manufacturing across the nation.
He added that the removal of the mask mandate only worked to accelerate the decline of the new industry in the United States. Armbrust is also the president of the American Mask Manufacturer's Association, which is a group created to fight for domestic startups. He is one of the last remaining manufacturers but he is also at risk of decline, Yahoo Finance reported.
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Judge Blocks Public Transportation Mask Mandate, Cites CDC's Lack of Authority
