MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced Tuesday that Moody will be leading 20 other states in taking legal action against the Biden administration over the federal mask mandate on public transportation.
Gov. DeSantis announces a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s continuation of the transportation mask mandate. https://t.co/tiu5F1NaGA
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 29, 2022
They announced that lawsuit a little less than three weeks before the TSA’s mask mandate is set to expire anyway, but they’re not alone in calling for its end.
The move comes just 20 days before the TSA’s extension of the mandate is set to expire and six days after some of the country’s major airline CEO’s sent a letter to the Biden administration, saying science clearly supports lifting the mandate and that it is “no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment.”
Captain Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, the union that represents 14,000 American Airlines pilots, says they’re ready for the change as well.
“This is not a time for politics, this is a time for science and the science so far is showing, as we look across our communities, no matter what state you’re in, or city, we see that the masks are not required. We’ve seen the CEO’s of the airlines talk about this. We’re not in opposition to that and we want to get back to the business of a more normal travel experience. But no matter what the travel conditions, it must be safe, and we feel it’s safe right now,” Tajer said.
Earlier this month, TSA extended the mask mandate to Monday, April 18, and so far the major airlines seem to be on the side of letting it expire then.
As for whether or not the lawsuit is even necessary, Moody and DeSantis say the Biden administration has a history of saying they’ll do one thing, and then doing another.
The full complaint can be read by clicking here.