On Monday, April 18, a US federal judge ruled that the mask mandate for travelers using public transportation such as trains and airplanes is unlawful.
(Yalonda M. James/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
This mandate was extended several times in an effort curb COVID-19 and was due to expire on May 3. Whether the administration planned to extend it again is unclear, but this latest blow marks yet another ruling against the administration’s coronavirus measures.
US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority by imposing the mask requirement days after the agency extended it another two weeks.
The case was brought forward by the Health Freedom Defense Fund – an organization that is anti-mandate in nature – asking that the court set the mandate aside under the Administrative Procedure Act.
