The Republican Party just achieved a major legislative victory as the United States Senate passed Senator Rand Paul’s resolution to repeal the federal mask mandate on public transportation. This law would effectively eliminate the mask mandate on passenger airplanes, trains and ships.
More than two years after the initial COVID lockdown, the Senate finally voted to lift the federal mask mandate by a margin of 57-40. Eight Democrats joined forty-nine Republicans in supporting the legislation whereas one Republican, Senator Mitt Romney, voted against the resolution.
🚨BREAKING: U.S. Senate, on a vote of 57-40, just PASSED Sen. Rand Paul’s bill ENDING the airplane/public transportation mask mandate!
— Tim Swain (@SwainForSenate) March 15, 2022
The eight Democrats that voted to end the mask mandate were Senators Jon Tester of Montana, Catherine Cortez-Masto and Jackie Rosen of Nevada, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly of Arizona, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire. This group of senators comes from primarily red states and swing states where mask mandates are widely unpopular.
“Today, the Senate said enough is enough and sent a message to unelected government bureaucrats to stop the anti-science, nanny state requirement of travel mask mandates,” Paul said in a statement following the vote.
“Since March 2020, unelected bureaucrats have incessantly declared that we should ‘follow the science,’” he said. “But the same bureaucrats continue to defy science by imposing an ineffective and restrictive mask mandate for individuals traveling on public transit and airplanes.”
Despite the legislation, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced on Thursday that the mask mandate will be extended until at least April 18, 2022. A TSA official told Fox News that “at CDC’s recommendation, TSA will extend the security directive for mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs for one month, through April 18th.”
Senator Rand Paul additionally sponsored unsuccessful legislation to eliminate the position of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director, the position currently held by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
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