A Republican-backed resolution to end the federal mask mandate on public transportation cleared the Senate on Tuesday.
The resolution passed 57–40 with bipartisan support but faces significant barriers to becoming law due to the Biden administration’s veto threat and uncertainty over whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi will even allow a vote on the measure in the House.
GOP SENATORS CALL FOR BIDEN TO DITCH ‘SILLY’ MASKING RULES ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT
“Today, the Senate said enough is enough and sent a message to unelected government bureaucrats to stop the anti-science nanny-state requirement of travel mask mandates,” Sen. Rand Paul said in a statement following the vote. “Since March 2020, unelected bureaucrats have incessantly declared that we should ‘follow the science.’ But the same bureaucrats continue to defy science by imposing an ineffective and restrictive mask mandate for individuals traveling on public transit and airplanes.”
Paul, a Kentucky Republican who brought forth the resolution, has been arguing against the mandate for months. Senate Republicans held a news conference earlier Tuesday touting the measure and daring Democrats to vote against it as they seek to paint Democrats as the party of COVID-19 restrictions ahead of the midterm elections.
The resolution had solid Republican support, with only Utah GOP Sen. Mitt Romney breaking from the pack, and even had support from eight Democrats, among them Sens. Michael Bennet, Catherine Cortez Masto, Maggie Hassan, Mark Kelly, Joe Manchin, Jacky Rosen, Kyrsten Sinema, and Jon Tester.
Half of the Democrats who voted in favor of the resolution are facing reelection fights in this midterm cycle. The legislation was considered under the Congressional Review Act and only needed a simple majority to clear the Senate instead of the 60-vote threshold typically required by the filibuster. The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to nix rules implemented by government agencies with a resolution.
Last week, the Transportation Security Administration extended its mask mandate, which was set to expire March 18, to April 18, triggering an outcry from top Republicans. The Biden administration imposed the mandate in 2021 and has since extended it at least twice since then. The mandate requires the public to wear face masks in airports, trains, subways, and other forms of public transportation.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
States and cities across the country have begun easing COVID-19 restrictions as the pandemic case numbers drop. The United States reported 39,024 new cases and zero deaths Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Health experts such as Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, believe there may soon be an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. due to relaxed mitigation efforts and the BA.2 stealth omicron subvariant. Recently, a slew of House Democrats tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a retreat in Philadelphia. Former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, have also tested positive.
