In a bipartisan protest to the Biden administration’s policies, the Senate passed a new resolution from Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican Sen., to remove the mask restrictions on public transportation imposed by the state.
Although the resolution was accepted very well in the Senate, the process of passing it in the Democratic-controlled House is expected to be tough. The current President of the U.S, Joe Biden, is expected to oppose it. The White House has threatened to veto the idea.
The final result was 57-40. Eight Democrats voted in favor of the resolution. Mitt Romney of Utah, a Republican senator, voted against the bill.
Senators Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Mark Kelly, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia are among the Democrats who voted to abolish the mask mandate.
The Biden administration stated earlier this month that the federal public transportation mask mandate would be extended until April 18. As coronavirus incidence has decreased since the Omicron outbreak earlier this year, several mask restrictions have been revoked in states and schools around the US. Republicans have been pressuring the White House and congressional Democrats to remove different federal rules aimed at combating Covid-19.
Before the vote, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine asked his colleagues not to support Paul’s resolution, stating that the federal travel mask mandate is slated to expire next month and that Congress should give the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention time to issue new recommendations, said report.
Paul, a member of the Senate Health Committee, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of mask use among Republicans and has not been seen wearing one during the outbreak, according to CNN.
Republicans have made this common-sense request in the name of all Americans, according to Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the leading Republican member of the Senate Commerce Committee.