Gov. Ron DeSantis, announced Tuesday at a press conference that Florida and 20 other states are suing the Biden administration over the federal mask mandate on public transportation.
If politicians and celebrities can attend the Super Bowl unmasked, every U.S. citizen should have the right to fly unmasked," DeSantis, R-Fla, said in a statement. "It is well past time to get rid of this unnecessary mandate and get back to normal life."
He added that more people would be willing to fly to Florida if they didn't have to mask up to get there.
The federal law enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response to the COVID-19 pandemic applies to airplanes, airports and other means of public transportation.
"It's not something grounded in any science," DeSantis said. "If you have somebody sitting in the window seat, and they're nibbling on peanuts for 2 ½ hours, they have their mask down."
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who is spearheading the legal effort, called the rule an unlawful "power grab."
"This order is completely outside the bounds of the scope of federal power," she said. "President Biden’s shortsighted, heavy-handed and unlawful travel policies are frustrating travelers and causing chaos on public transportation."
The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida asks a judge to block the rule's enforcement and ultimately overturn it.
The filing argues that the law is overly broad and arbitrary.
Moody led 22 other state attorneys general in demanding the end of the Head Start program’s mask mandate in participating schools and daycares that forced the masking of children as young as two years old.
