Thomas Massie and 16 Other Congressional Colleagues File Lawsuit Against the CDC to Repeal Mask Mandate for Air Travel

Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie is leading the push for a lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The lawsuit in question is Massie et al v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its aim is to scrap the CDC’s mask mandate for individuals flying  commercial airlines. 

The Biden administration has recently extended the CDC’s mask mandate until April 18, which makes Massie’s lawsuit all the more important. 

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not have the legal authority to force people traveling on commercial airlines to wear masks,” stated Thomas Massie. “Congress never passed a law requiring masks on commercial flights. This lawsuit targets the faceless bureaucrats who are behind the CDC’s unscientific regulation so that this illegal mask mandate can be brought to a permanent end.”

According to a press statement that Massie’s office released on March 14, Massie et al v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention features two main claims:

First, none of the statutes or regulations cited by the CDC for the authority to mandate that individuals wear masks on commercial airlines, conveyances, and at transportation hubs, permit the CDC to implement or enforce this mandate. 

Second, even if Congress had granted the CDC the authority to promulgate the mask mandate, the granting of this authority would violate a principle known as the “non-delegation doctrine.”

Massie and his co-plaintiffs are calling on a federal court to declare that “the mask mandate is beyond the CDC’s statutory authority or is unconstitutional.” In addition, the plaintiffs are aiming to get an injunction that bans the CDC, or any individual acting on the CDC’s behalf, from carrying out the mask mandate. 

16 other elected officials have joined Massie as plaintiffs in the Massie et al v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These include: 

“Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), and Rep. Chip Roy, (R-TX).

“I’ve been leading the charge in the Senate to end these unscientific, unconstitutional mask mandates, and am proud to continue the fight by joining Rep. Massie on this effort,” Rand Paul declared.

“The CDC’s mask mandate does not protect public health and is beyond the agency’s statutory authority,” stated Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs. “That’s why nearly a year ago I introduced H.R.4441 – Travel Mask Mandate Repeal Act of 2021 that repealed mask mandates on public transportation. CDC’s tyrannical bureaucrats must be held accountable for placing anti-science restrictions on individuals who have faced hardship for some time now. Mask mandates are old news, and are only being kept in place by those who relish controlling our day-to-day lives.”

“The CDC has forced Americans to wear masks on commercial flights for two years without legal standing. A mandate is not law, and Congress never passed legislation codifying the CDC’s mask wearing demands,” asserted Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale. “It is unconstitutional for the Director of the CDC to suppress the freedoms of the American people in such a way, and political pressure to control the fearmongering narrative of COVID-19 needs to end.”

“From the start of the pandemic, the CDC has issued arbitrary and brazenly politicized guidance that was not authorized by Congress,” Texas Congressman Chip Roy commented. “Never was this more obvious than at the State of the Union where attendees were told they could go mask-less just days before the CDC renewed its mask mandate on public transportation. It’s time to end the fear-driven tyranny.  I am proud to join my good friend Rep. Thomas Massie in this lawsuit.”

Massie filed this lawsuit against the CDC in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The defendants named in the case are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Director of the CDC Rochelle P. Walensky, and Chief of Staff of the CDC Sherri A. Berger. 

Massie is making the right call by filing this lawsuit. As practically all red states have ended these harsh Wuhan virus measures, many federal institutions and institutions that deal with interstate commerce have still kept these mandates in place.

It’s ultimately going to take firm leadership to correct these mistakes. Politically savvy Republicans should continue campaigning against mandates that remain in place. People are done with the Wuhan virus and want to go on with their lives. 

Politicians who pick up on the unpopularity of Wuhan virus measures and campaign strongly against them will be handsomely rewarded at the polls. Massie is leading the way and hopefully other politicians follow suit.