Rep. Moore joins lawsuit to end mask mandate for air travel

Statement

Representative Barry Moore (AL-02) joined sixteen of his colleagues in a lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The lawsuit, Massie et al v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeks to end the CDC's illegal mask mandate for individuals traveling on commercial airlines. This lawsuit takes on additional significance in the face of news reports indicating the Biden Administration is extending the CDC's mask mandate until April 18.

Massie et al v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contains two primary 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."

Representative Moore and his co-plaintiffs are asking a federal court to declare that "the mask mandate is beyond the CDC's statutory authority or is unconstitutional." Further, the plaintiffs seek an injunction that prohibits the CDC, or anyone acting on the CDC's behalf, from enforcing the mask mandate.

"Government bureaucrats desperate for relevancy are waging a war against everyday American citizens and their constitutional freedoms," said Rep. Moore. "The unscientific mask mandate for commercial air travel should be ended immediately, and I am proud to join my friend Rep. Massie in this lawsuit to end this charade permanently."

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not have the legal authority to force people traveling on commercial airlines to wear masks," said Rep. 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."

"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," Sen. Rand Paul said.

Massie et al v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The named defendants are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle P. Walensky in her official capacity as Director of the CDC, and Sherri A. Berger in her official capacity as Chief of Staff of the CDC.

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