The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that overturned the Biden administration’s mask mandate for air travel and public transport.
The Department said in a statement that it will appeal the ruling if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes that the mandate is “necessary” to protect public health. The CDC has already concluded that the mandate is needed, according to a report from NBC News. The DOJ will not attempt to stay the judge’s ruling, however, meaning that the transportation mask mandate will not be enforced while the DOJ challenges the ruling in court.
The two agencies “disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal, subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health,” the DOJ said in a statement to the media. “The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given [the] CDC to protect the public health.”
CDC has concluded that mask order is necessary, per @PeteWilliamsNBC. DOJ will appeal, but will not seek an emergency stay of the judge’s ruling, so the mandate will not be in place while the appeal proceeds.
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) April 19, 2022
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters earlier on Tuesday that the Biden administration was considering an appeal of the ruling.
“Agencies are reviewing next steps, including the Department of Justice,” Psaki said, adding later that “public health decisions shouldn’t be made by the courts—they should be made by public health experts.”
U.S. district judge Kathryn Mizelle, a Trump appointee, overturned the federal mask mandate for air travel and public transport on Monday, ruling that the mandate violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The CDC announced last week that it would extend the mandate for two weeks starting on Monday, but following Mizelle’s ruling a Biden administration official told media outlets that the mandate was no longer in effect.
Airlines including American, Delta, Southwest, and United, announced on Monday that they were no longer requiring masks on domestic flights, and Amtrak announced that masks were not required on trains.