AG Paxton Joins Amicus Brief Challenging CDC’s Transportation Mask Mandate

Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General

 AUSTIN – (News Release) Attorney General Paxton joined a Florida-led amicus brief filed in the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit seeking to affirm a successful challenge to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Transportation Mask Mandate. The CDC is appealing a lower court’s order striking down the mandate. 

 “‘No one doubts that the COVID–19 pandemic has posed challenges for every American,’” the brief says, quoting from the United States Supreme Court’s decision striking down the OSHA vaccine mandate. “But the question in this case is not how best to confront those challenges. Rather, it is who decides—is it ‘an administrative agency in Washington,’ or ‘state and local governments across the country and the people’s elected representatives in Congress’? If that sounds familiar, it should. Throughout the pandemic, this administration has turned to novel, expansive, and dubious readings of its authorities. CDC has been among the worst offenders, making ‘unprecedented assertion[s] of power.’”  

 To read the brief, click here. 

Paxton Joins Letter Demanding Biden Administration Halt Head Start Mask Mandate

Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General  

AUSTIN – (News Release) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with 22 other states, sent a letter to the Biden Administration demanding that it immediately rescind the Head Start mask mandate. The mandate contradicts guidance from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund – both of whom agree that children aged 5 years and under should not be required to wear masks.  

“We are at a point where even the most restrictive states, such as California and Oregon, are lifting mask mandates at schools,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has walked back its masking guidance, but the Biden Administration thinks they have the authority to force 5 year-old children to wear a mask. The only thing consistent about this administration’s policies regarding COVID-19 is that they are inconsistent.” 

Read the letter here.  

AG Paxton Sues Biden Over Illegal Airline, Airport Mask Mandate

Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General

AUSTIN –(News Release)  Attorney General Ken Paxton, alongside the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) on behalf of Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne, sued the Biden Administration for its illegal mask mandate for airlines and airports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) mandate was unlawfully issued. It was not authorized by Congress, and the CDC did not put the mandate up for notice and comment, which is ordinarily required for regulations like this. Yet a person’s failure to comply with the Administration’s mask mandate carries criminal penalties.  

“Biden’s repeated disregard of the individual liberties of Texans is not only disrespectful to the U.S. Constitution, it is also troublesome that any president thinks they can act above the law while hardworking Americans standby,” said Attorney General Paxton. “President Biden cannot continue governing through executive edicts. Now is the time to strike down his administration’s air-travel mask mandate. I’m proud to stand alongside my friend Congresswoman Van Duyne and her counsel at TPPF to protect Texans’ liberty and the rule of law."