Psaki Raps DeSantis Over Punishment of School Officials Who Mandate Masks: ‘We’re Talking About People’s Lives’
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki criticized Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for threatening to withhold pay from school officials who enact mask mandates.
At Tuesday afternoon’s White House daily briefing, the subject of the threat from DeSantis’ office — that the state board of education “could move to withhold the salary of the district superintendent or school board members” who defy DeSantis’ executive orders — came up repeatedly.
NBC News White House correspondent Peter Alexander asked Psaki to give the administration’s “take” on the governor’s threat, and Psaki began by praising “the courage and the boldness of a number of leaders in Florida, including in Miami-Dade county. People who are stepping up to do the right thing to protect students and keep schools safe and open.”
Psaki added that “We are continuing to look for ways for the U.S. government to support district and schools as they try to follow the science, do the right thing, and save lives,” and referenced federal funds from the American Rescue Plan that have not yet been distributed in Florida.
“So in simple terms, what do you say directly to Governor DeSantis about this threatened punishment?”
Psaki responded with a variation on President Joe Biden’s previous messages to DeSantis over the handling of Covid.
If you are not interested in following the public health guidelines to protect the lives of people in your state, to give parents some comfort as they are sending their kids to school, schools are opening this week, I know, in many parts of Florida, then get out of the way and let public officials, let local officials do their job to keep students safe.
This is serious. And we are talking about people’s lives, and we know based on public health guidelines that even though kids under a certain age are not yet eligible, masks can have a huge impact.
Last week, Biden and Psaki each said that DeSantis should “get out of the way” after he signed orders banning mask mandates.
Watch above via C-Span.
