“What’s the science behind the FAA extending the mask mandate on planes? Biden keeps pushing the deadline over and over and over again,” Florida Republican Representative Carlos A. Gimenez wrote on Twitter. “States and local communities have been rolling back these useless mandates for months. It’s time Biden do the same.”
The criticism came shortly after the TSA issued a statement on Thursday saying that following a recommendation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “TSA will extend the security directive for mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs for one month, through April 18th.”
“This revised framework will be based on the COVID-19 community levels, risk of new variants, national data, and the latest science. We will communicate any updates publicly if and/or when they change,” the statement added.
In addition to Gimenez, several other U.S. lawmakers expressed distaste for the decision by the TSA.
“Apparently government doesn’t want to relinquish its power and plans to extend the mask mandate on planes & public transportation. Not on my watch! I’ll be forcing a vote next week to end this unscientific mandate,” Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul wrote on Twitter.
Pennsylvania Representative Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican, also criticized the decision, citing comments Biden made during the State of the Union where he said, “We’ve reached a new moment in the fight against COVID-19, with severe cases down to a level not seen since last July.”
In response to the decision by the TSA, Reschenthaler wrote “I’m sick and tired of COVID theater.”
Prior to the statement issued by the TSA on Thursday, Reschenthaler and 90 other Republican lawmakers signed a letter to TSA Administrator David Pekoske calling on the agency to end its mask mandate.
“Given strong declines in COVID-19 cases and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s [CDC] latest guidance eliminating indoor mask requirements for much of the population, we believe TSA’s mask mandate should be allowed to expire later this month,” the letter said.
As the lawmakers noted in their letter, and as Biden mentioned during the State of the Union, COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have continued to decline over recent weeks.
According to data from the CDC, as of March 8, the seven-day moving average number of cases in the U.S. was about 38,000. Comparatively, on January 10, the seven-day moving average number of cases was more than 750,000.
Newsweek reached out to the TSA for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
