St. Petersburg, Florida — The Transportation Security Administration won’t enforce the national mask mandate on planes and public transit for now after a federal judge voided it on Monday, according to an administration official.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa voided the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s requirement covering airplanes and other public transit, saying the mandate exceeded the authority of U.S. health officials.

That means the CDC’s public transportation masking order is not in effect at this time, and the TSA won’t enforce the requirement while federal agencies are reviewing the judge’s decision, the administration official said. The CDC still encourages masking on public transit.

The decision also said the CDC improperly failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act.

“The court concludes that the mask mandate exceeds the CDC’s statutory authority and violates the procedures required for agency rulemaking under the APA,” the judge wrote. “Accordingly, the court vacates the mandate and remands it to the CDC.”

The CDC recently extended the mask mandate, which was set to expire on April 18, until May 3 to allow more time to study the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus that is now responsible for the vast majority of cases in the U.S. FULL STORY HERE