White House Coronavirus Task Force Reportedly Shot Down CDC Guidance Mandating Masks on All Public Transportation

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The White House blocked a proposed CDC guideline in September that would’ve federally mandated mask wearing by both passengers and employees on all public and commercial transportation.

According to the New York Times, the public health agency’s recommendation had the endorsement of Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. But per two federal health officials, the head of the White House’s Covid task force, Vice President Mike Pence, would not even consider implementing it.

This story is just the latest example of the Trump White House contradicting or exerting pressure on the CDC’s public guidance about Covid. Last month, a Times report found that the task force had pressured the agency to downplay the risks from the virus in its recommendations about reopening schools. Weeks before that, the agency had released new guidance — despite “serious objections” from CDC scientists, who were not involved — that severely curtailed testing requirements, before that recommendation was eventually rescinded. And in mid-September, the president very publicly undercut CDC Dr. Robert Redfield, telling the press the agency chief was “confused” and “mistaken” for producing a Covid vaccine wouldn’t be widely available until next year.

“The order would have been the toughest federal mandate to date aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, which continues to infect more than 40,000 Americans a day,” the Times explained about the transportation recommendation. “The officials said that it was drafted under the agency’s ‘quarantine powers.'”

If the CDC rule had gone into place, it would have mandated mask wearing on planes, buses, trains, and subways and would also apply to all airports, bus and train stations.

A White House official told the Times that the task force’s decision to shoot down the CDC rule was based on a broad objection to federal involvement on an issue best left to local and state officials.

“Local and state authorities need to determine the best approach for their responsive effort depending on how the coronavirus is impacting their area,” the White House said.

But critics of the White House noted that transportation, in particular commercial air travel, can cross many jurisdictions in a single day, making a localized, patchwork system of guidance incredibly difficult to follow.