Rand Paul vows to introduce public transportation mask mandate repeal

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Sen. Rand Paul vowed to introduce legislation to repeal the mask mandate on planes when the Senate returns to session.
• In a Twitter post on Thursday, the GOP senator wrote: ” Enough! Time to stop this farce and let people travel in peace!”
• In May, Paul announced that he would not get vaccinated against COVID-19 because he had already contracted the disease last year.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) vowed on Thursday to fight part of the public transportation mask mandate that requires passengers to wear face coverings when traveling on planes.

“When the Senate returns to session, I will be introducing an immediate repeal of the mask mandate on planes,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “Enough!”

He added, “Time to stop this farce and let people travel in peace!”

Paul’s promise to tackle air travel masks requirements targets a portion of the public transportation executive order signed by Biden on his first day in office that requires face coverings on all public transportation, including airports and airplanes.

Paul’s comments are the latest in a string of protests the GOP senator has waged against the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response.

After White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Biden’s new door-to-door vaccination strategy to encourage Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Paul tweeted a condemnation of the plan, writing, “No.”

“The gov’t doesn’t decide who gets vaccinated,” he added. “You do. Do not submit to the fearmongers.”

The White House’s plan would not determine who gets vaccinated or force anyone to get a vaccine should they choose not to.

Paul in May announced that he would not be getting the COVID-19 vaccine because he had already contracted the disease in March 2020. Officials have maintained that even people who contracted COVID-19 should be vaccinated. 

Paul’s office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Source: The Hill