The chairman of the House Democrats’ campaign arm says he now wants to get rid of COVID mask mandates.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, New York Democrat, said forced masking should end now, shortly after the Biden administration extended its federal mask mandate through April 18.
“I’m completely over mask mandates,” Mr. Maloney told Axios. “I don’t think they make sense anymore. I’m for whatever gets rid of mask mandates as quickly as possible.”
Mr. Maloney said his Democratic colleagues are open to supporting a Republican-led mask mandate repeal measure, switching the tone of his party’s stance towards public health rules.
Mr. Maloney’s comments follow a Senate vote last week in which eight Democrats broke with their party to join Republicans on a resolution to get rid of the Biden administration’s public transit mask mandate.
The Senate voted 57-40 to pass the resolution that would undo the White House mask extension on planes, trains, subways, and other public transit.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia; Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, both of Arizona; Jon Tester of Montana; Catherine Cortez-Masto and Jacky Rosen, both of Nevada; Michael Bennet of Colorado and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire voted for the resolution.
It’s unclear whether there will be a House vote on the resolution, according to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
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