The Supreme Court rejected a bid to finally end travel mask mandates.
The Supreme Court rejected a bid to finally end travel mask mandates.
Background: Under an executive order from President Biden, the Transportation Security Administration requires all passengers to wear masks on planes and other public methods of transportation in an effort to reduce Covid-19 transmission.
What Happened: A man filed an emergency application on behalf of himself and his 4-year-old son, both of which are autistic and claim to be medically incapable of wearing masks for extended periods.
The emergency application was fled to Justice Neil Gorsuch who handles emergency applications arising in several western states, and he referred the matter to the full court.
The court rejected the request without comment.
Details: Joining the father-son challengers was another man, Lucas Wall, who has sought to raise money and publicity from his legal efforts targeting the federal transportation mask mandate. Chief Justice John Roberts last month unilaterally rejected a separate challenge filed by the group.
Context: This effort comes after the Court voted to block other pandemic measures implemented by the Biden administration. The Supreme Court voted 6-3 to block a vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers but voted 5-4 to maintain a vaccine mandate for health providers at federally funded facilities.