Biden Faces Pressure as Federal Mask Mandates Near Expiration

With less than two weeks before the federal mask mandate for public transit, airplanes, and airports is set to expire, rival groups are lobbying the Biden administration to either extend it or let it expire for good.

Introduced after President Joe Biden took office and extended three times so far, the measure is one of the federal government’s only direct forays into the mask wars, impacting travelers from business class to school buses coast to coast. As mask mandates fall across the country, interest groups are taking their concerns to the White House.

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In one corner is the largest union of flight attendants that not only wants the mandate extended but also said it has “every expectation” it will be.

“The conditions in aviation are the same. Our youngest passengers do not yet have access to the vaccine,” the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said in February.

In the other corner is industry trade group Airlines for America, which joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other travel industry associations to pen a letter to White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients.

“Given travel’s slow economic recovery, and in light of the improved public health metrics in the U.S. and medical advancements to prevent the worst outcomes of COVID-19, we encourage the Administration to immediately remove travel requirements that no longer fit with the current environment and to set clear timelines and metrics for when others will be lifted,” it reads.

The letter cites business travel being 50% lower in 2021 from where it was in 2019 and international travel down 78%. Not only does the letter ask for an end to mask mandates, but it also calls for scrapping pre-departure tests and avoiding travel advisories and travel bans.

Flights and the mask mandate have been a regular source of conflict and drama aboard several airlines. At least one flight has reversed course due to passengers rejecting the staff’s call for them to wear a mask. Other families have alleged they were kicked off flights due to children not wearing masks.

The Transportation Security Administration has increased penalties for those who failed to comply with mask mandates, threatening to charge offenders with fines between $500 and $3,000 depending on repeat offenses. As of Feb. 23, the Federal Aviation Administrated reported 607 unruly passenger incidents in 2022, with 397 related to face masks. Flight attendants have often been tasked with enforcing the rules on the front lines.

The Biden administration has important interest groups on both sides of the debate. Biden, who has called himself the most pro-union president in history, has pledged to follow the advice of public health experts, and many Democrats retain a pro-mask mindset. On the other hand, the administration is shifting away from virus-related restrictions, as polls show most people no longer support them and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has loosened its guidance.

There is at least some hesitation coming out of the White House. The federal mask mandate was last extended Dec. 2 — a full 47 days before its expiration date of Jan. 18. But with less than two weeks until March 18, nothing has come from the administration either way.

No matter the outcome, it likely won’t be decided by lobbying from industry groups or unions, argues American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Philip Wallach.

“[Mask mandates] have been such a high-salience policy, and the administration has been trying to stake out a new position to help steer the broader political discussion,” he said. “My sense is that broader play doesn’t have much to do with interest group politics. It comes from a sense that the American public feels very strongly about this and it may be risky for Democrats to dig in and keep recommending masking.”

The CDC’s updated guidance does not weigh in directly over masking on public transit, and Director Rochelle Walensky has said the agency would revisit the question.

As with school mask mandates, the topic can get heated and has been hotly debated for some time.

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly and American Airlines CEO Doug Park testified before Congress in December that planes are extremely well ventilated and safe to board with or without masks.

But when Dr. Anthony Fauci was asked a few days later if the United States will ever reach a point when masks shouldn’t be required on airplanes, he replied, “I don’t think so.”

The vast increase in unruly passenger complaints since the mandates began prompted Delta Airlines to ask the Department of Justice to create a federal “no-fly” list as a means of calming the skies.

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With committed groups lobbying the White House from either side of the mask wars, several people will be disappointed come March 19 regardless.

“There are going to be a lot of headaches for the administration either way,” Wallach said. “It’s a matter of ‘pick your poison.'”