On Tuesday, the Justice Department requested a federal appels court to reverse a court decision last month by a federal judge declaring the mandate for masks on planes and public transport illegal.
A 48-page document was filed with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Justice Department argues the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s order of early 2021 “falls easily within CDC’s statutory authority.”
The Justice Department announced last month that it will appeal U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle’s decision to revoke the CDC’s mandate for public transport if the agency finds the mandate necessary to protect public safety.
The Justice Department stated in its brief that “none of the quarrels between the district courts and the CDC order even comes close to showing the CDC has acted out of the ‘zoneof reasonableness'”.
“The CDC order’s findings provide sufficient support for the agency’s determination that the order should be made immediately.”
The CDC did no immediate respond to requests for comment.
Mizelle argued in her ruling that the mandate is contrary to the Administrative Procedure Act, because the agency failed prove it’s decision regarding the implementation of the mandate.
Mizelle wrote that “the court concluded that the mask mandate exceeded the CDC’s statutory power and violates agency rulemaking procedures under the APA.”
Uber, Lyft, Amtrak, and Amtrak made masks optional for many transportation companies soon after this decision was made.
This report was contributed by Ayana Archie, NPR.