Constitutional laws are there to protect people from all - including their own government’s overreach. Finally, this week after 9 months of waiting, President Joe Biden’s “Mask Mandate” on federal airplanes was declared illegal, a federal judge ruled on Monday.
This part of Biden’s COVID-19 agenda faces a huge setback. The CDC issued its initial order on January 29, 2021 as a result of Biden’s executive order, one of his first after taking office. This judgement will have the fear mongering CDC very unhappy and Dr. Fauci is likely having his own meltdown or behind the scenes tantrum.
The mask mandate requires almost everyone ages two and up to wear masks in airports, on airplanes, and on other forms of public transportation such as busses. It only allows for certain narrow exceptions such as between bites when people are eating, exempting only those with a bonified medical reasons from wearing one. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have for months now been strictly implementing the CDC’s decision.
Hopefully this insanity will now come to an end!
Over time, various legal challenges have been filed against the mandate. Almost two dozen states have now recently filed lawsuits raising constitutional and statutory objections to the ongoing CDC Mask Mandate.
Monday’s ruling, by Judge Kathryn Mizelle (a Trump appointee), addressed three violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by the Mask Mandate. These violations are: first, that issuing the order is beyond CDC’s statutory authority granted by Congress, second, that the CDC’s action was really a regulation rather than an order, and should have gone through a process of public notice with opportunity for public comment beforehand, and third, because it is “arbitrary and capricious,” (her words) seemingly not the result of reasoned decision making.
In part of Judge Mizelle’s 59-page ruling, she was quoted as stating:
“The government purports to discover this unheralded power to regulate how individuals appear and behave in public in a long-extant statute—one over seventy years old wrote. “This history suggests that the power the government sees in § 264(a) is a mirage.”
Apparently, Judge Mizelle was not impressed by the rationale that the public emergency was caused by COVID 19 without any extensive rationale. Further, she corrected them in that the Mask Mandate was a regulation and not simply an agency order - for which they needed to go through months of public comments. She explained that:
“good cause to suspend notice and comment must be supported by more than the bare need for the regulations.”
Essentially, just because the Biden administration or any agency under their control, desires to make an unsupported rule, doesn’t mean the law gets subverted to allow them to do so. It’s nice to know once and for all that the “Emperor has no clothes”. Finally, someone sees the insanity that the rest of America sees!
Then she concluded -
“Because our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends, the Court declares unlawful and vacates the Mask Mandate,”
Obviously, the response was mixed. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins was quoted by Breitbart News as stating,
“What a breath of fresh air! I am grateful for Judge Mizelle striking down this authoritarian mandate,” adding “It is becoming clear that the COVID mandates are masking the desire by some in government for more control over the lives of American citizens.”
and Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) applauded Judge Mizelle’s decision in a tweet:
As predicted, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called Mizelle’s decision “disappointing” during Monday’s WH press briefing, adding that the CDC and Department of Health and Human Services are “reviewing the decision and that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would be making any determinations about any litigation.” In fact, the DOJ may seek an emergency stay at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to block Mizelle’s order, keeping the mandate in place.
The present result of the ruling is that a Biden administration official stated:
“Therefore, TSA will not enforce its Security Directives and Emergency Amendment requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs at this time,” adding that the “CDC recommends that people continue to wear masks in indoor public transportation settings.”
What a harsh reality for those on the far left, those off-the-hook controlling autocrats that inhabit Congress at present who think that freedom is a word/concept for them alone to enjoy/determine. This is the just the beginning of the push-back that will be a part of their existence until they see defeat in November. The US Constitution guarantees our freedom and Americans will accept no less.