CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, along with 20 other states, joined a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s mask mandate on airplanes and other public transportation, seeking to have the mandate removed.
The 21 states filed the lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, CDC Chief of Staff Sherri A. Berger, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, DHHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the Transportation Security Administration, TSA Administrator David P. Pekoski, the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the federal government.
The lawsuit argues that seven months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court’ made a decision in Alabama Association of Realtors II, in which it made clear that the CDC cannot issue economy-wide mask mandates.
"More recently, even lockdown States like California have announced the end of their mask mandates," the complaint states. "Still, the CDC unabashedly leaves its mandate intact."
The complaint is seeking vacatur of the mask mandate and a permanent injunction against its enforcement.
"I oppose such broad overreaching mandates on airplanes and in other public transportation," Morrisey said. "We must fight back against efforts to deprive citizens of their freedoms."
The complaint states that the CDC invoked numerous actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included shutting down the nation’s cruise industry, prohibiting evictions and mandating mask-wearing for travelers.
Violation of the mandate carries criminal penalties, although the CDC has announced that it "does not intend to rely primarily on these criminal penalties" because it "anticipates widespread voluntary compliance."
However, the CDC has not updated its mask mandate since Feb. 1, 2021, and has not allowed public comment on the mandate.
Morrisey joined with attorneys general in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah for the lawsuit.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida at Tampa: 8:22-cv-00718