The Centers for Disease Control officially asked the Department of Justice to appeal a ruling by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week that struck down the Biden administration's mask mandate for travel.
"To protect CDC’s public health authority beyond the ongoing assessment announced last week, CDC has asked DOJ to proceed with an appeal in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc., et al., v. Biden, et al. It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary. CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health," CDC released in a statement Wednesday evening.
"CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in all indoor public transportation settings. CDC’s number one priority is protecting the public health of our nation. As we have said before, wearing masks is most beneficial in crowded or poorly ventilated locations, such as the transportation corridor," the statement continues.
Because of filtration systems onboard, airplanes have been shown to be one of the safest places from Wuhan coronavirus because they are extremely well ventilated.
On Tuesday the Department of Justice said they would appeal the ruling if the CDC recommended government attorneys do so. Today, they did exactly that.
“The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal, subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health. The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve,” DOJ said. “If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public’s health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district court’s decision."
Earlier today, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki admitted the back and forth between DOJ and the CDC on whether to reinstate the mandate was to ensure the federal agency has masking authority in the future.
PSAKI: "Our focus here was seeing what power we had to preserve" forced masking on airplanes. pic.twitter.com/OV98Nh1g1j
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 20, 2022
The move to appeal comes as thousands of passengers rejoiced when the mandate was lifted.