By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A federal judge in Florida struck down a national mask mandate on airlines and mass transit, leading airlines to immediately drop the mandate much to the delight of passengers.
It is a delight to northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves as well, who as the ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has been pressing the Biden Administration to end the requirement on public transportation.
“We’ve been arguing this for some time and the judge pointed out that the CDC was beyond their authority when it comes to this mandate and what’s more, the judge also ruled that they did it wrong. They didn’t follow proper procedure,” Graves tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Immediately after the federal judge issued the ruling, major airlines dropped the requirement that passengers wear masks during flights. Some passengers broke out in cheers, ripping off their masks, when the decision was announced mid-flight.
The Transportation Security Administration announced Monday night it would no longer enforce the mask requirement in airports and on airplanes.
Graves says he isn’t surprised the TSA acted so swiftly.
“The fact that the TSA immediately said that they were not going to enforce the mandate any longer and the fact that the airlines immediately dropped the mask mandate is just evidence of what we’ve been saying. People are tired of this,” Graves says.
Graves says he isn’t sure all public transit systems will drop the mandate as well. The judge left it up to local entities to decide whether masks should be required on public transportation.
Overall, though, the Congressman is just pleased with a ruling that the CDC could no longer require masks to use public transportation.
“People are tired of this. We are finished with being controlled constantly and that’s what this has been about. It’s been about control,” Graves says. “The TSA was no different than anyone else. I think they are tired of it was well and that’s why it didn’t take very long at all that they immediately complied.”
Graves says he isn’t sure whether the Biden Administration will fight the ruling, but adds he believes the administration understands how unpopular the mandate was.