By WMAL.com

Attorney General Jason Miyares announced this week that Virginia would be joining 20 other states to legally challenge the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) mask mandate on public transportation. Miyares joined O’Connor & Company this morning to discuss his decision to join that multistate case against the CDC.

• Setting the stage: The CDC recently announced that it would be recommending that the Transportation Security Administration extend its security directive to continue mandating masks on public transportation through April 18. Florida was the first state to file an injunction against the CDC for an unprecedent assertion of power.

• Miyares on why his office is addressing this issue rather than Congress: “If there’s anything we’ve seen a change in Washington over the past 40 years it is the growth of the administrative state [and] these unelected regulatory bodies. And what has happened is very convenient for Congress. Because they’d much rather have their members hop on the cable news shows or hold press conferences then actually pass law. They seed their authority to these regulatory bodies and say, ‘we’re not going to vote on this anymore. We’re going to give this power to the regulatory body.’ You make those decisions. And then when they make decisions that obviously impact everyday Virginians and everyday Americans than your Congressman or Senator can basically step back and say, ‘well, I never voted for that’ … so we’ve seen an explosion of the regulatory state.”

• Attorney Generals argue: “The attorneys general argue that the CDC’s unlawful mask mandate exceeds the agency’s authority by not authorizing economy-wide measures. The statute does not permit mask requirements for individuals who show no sign of infection, which the mandate requires, and the mandate does not consider the states’ actions to control the spread of COVID-19. Finally, the mandate violates the anti-commandeering doctrine by requiring state-run conveyances and transportation hubs to enforce the rule,” said Miyares in a press release issues by his office.

• Miyares fight against COVID-era mandates: continues as he enters Virginia into the coalition of states filing an injunction against the CDC. The move follows the lead of the Youngkin campaign which promised voters an end to government overreach by way of COVID mandates.

• States involved: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia.

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