DeSantis Promises ‘Normal’ School Year in Florida, Says Students Won’t be ‘Muzzled’ by Masks

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Thursday he wouldn’t allow his state’s students to be “muzzled” in the school year ahead.

“There’s been talk about potentially people advocating at the federal level about imposing compulsory masks on kids,” DeSantis said at a morning press conference in Fort Pierce. “We’re not doing that in Florida, OK? At the end of the day, we’ve got to start putting our kids first. We’ve got to look out for their education. Is it really comfortable, is it really healthy for them to be muzzled and have their breathing obstructed all day long in school? I don’t think it is.”

Six people familiar with the situation told The Washington Post on Wednesday the White House was discussing a revised federal mask mandate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the federal government mostly lacks the authority to mandate mask usage outside federal property, some advocates of stricter prevention measures have suggested that the Biden administration impose similar alternatives, including “proof of vaccination” cards that private businesses could use to filter their customers.

After rejecting renewed mask mandates, DeSantis used the opportunity to take aim at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, adding, “I thank God — I’ve got a 3-year-old son. You’ve got people like Fauci saying that he should be muzzled, that you should be throwing masks on these 3-year-old kids. It’s totally unacceptable.”

Watch above via Politico.