Chuck Todd Calls Out Biden Administration After Judge Strikes Down Mask Mandate: ‘They Don’t Fight Back’

MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd blasted the Biden administration on Tuesday after a federal judge struck down the federal mask mandate for planes and other public transportation.

“If you got on a plane or a train or really any form of public transportation today, you probably noticed a pretty big change,” said Todd during MTP Daily. “Yesterday afternoon a Trump-appointed federal judge in Florida struck down the administration’s federal mask mandate for travelers, just days after the Centers for Disease Control extended it through early May.”

“The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the ruling disappointing, but the White House has not yet appealed the ruling. They claim it’s something for the Department of Justice to look into,” he said.

During Monday’s White House press briefing, Psaki said that the decision was “disappointing” and that the Department of Homeland Security and the CDC are “reviewing” the mandate. The administration later said that the Transpiration Security Administration it would not enforce the mandate due to the ruling, which was made by Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Mizelle was appointed to the court on Nov. 20, 2020, after former President Donald Trump lost re-election.

Todd offered his take, suggesting the White House dropped the ball and allowed their own priorities to be overturned without a fight.

“They don’t defend their rationale,” he said. “They just give you the emoji shrug.”

Folks, it’s one thing for a Trump judge to strike down an order from the Biden White House. But it’s an entirely different thing for the White House to let it happen without any legal pushback. And it’s not first time recently that something hasn’t gone the White House’s way. They don’t fight back, they don’t defend their rationale. They just give you the emoji shrug.

We saw it when the Supreme Court struck down their vaccine mandate for large employers. We saw it when West Virginia’s Joe Manchin essentially scrapped the entire president’s domestic agenda in Congress. We may even be seeing it with the ongoing intraparty fight on Title 42. The Biden administration, with the full power and prestige of the presidency, with his party’s power on the line this November, has repeatedly looked as if they’re easy to roll.

Watch above, via MSNBC.