With summer travel season just around the corner, and yet another particularly contagious COVID-variant surge looming, a federal judge on Monday rolled back one of the Biden administration’s most obvious coronavirus mitigation efforts, claiming that the CDC had overstepped its authority by mandating passengers wear face masks on airplanes and other modes of public transportation.
In a 59-page ruling filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle described the CDC’s mandate — which was extended through May 3 — as part of its commendable effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, but criticized the agency for, in her view, acting beyond its legal mandate and failing to provide adequate legal justification for the rule.
