Joe Biden weighs appeal as judge’s lifting of travel mask mandate sows confusion – live

Martin Pengelly

A letter from Joe Biden to Sir Bill Beaumont, chairman of World Rugby, was part of a finalised package submitted by USA Rugby in its bid to host the men’s event in 2031 and the women two years later.

World Rugby is due to announce the success or not of the US bid on 12 May. Alan Gilpin, chief executive of the governing body, has said World Rugby believes it “can deliver the right outcomes with this hosting plan”.

In his letter to Beaumont, Biden wrote: “The United States strongly supports the effort to bring the 2031 Menʼs Rugby World Cup Tournament and the 2033 Womenʼs Rugby World Cup Tournament to our country and looks forward to working with Rugby World Cup Limited to help deliver the most successful Rugby World Cups in history”.

The president also pledged “to promote the development of rugby in the United States and worldwide in a sustainable and humanitarian manner, without any discrimination whatsoever, regardless of race, nationality or creed”, and says the US government will work to ensure that “any adverse impacts on the environment as a result of the tournaments are minimised”.

Biden said governmental guarantees sought by World Rugby would be “executed by officials who have the competence and authority” to do so, or in co-operation with states and private entities. The US will also seek the enactment of any necessary legislation, the letter says.

Biden’s Democrats stand to lose control of Congress to Republicans this November. There is however a bipartisan Congressional Rugby Caucus which supports the World Cup bid.

In the formal letter, Biden does not mention his own rugby experience as a player at law school and as a fan, notably of Ireland. The president has often expressed his love for the game and recently hosted a White House visit from the former Ireland and Lions full-back Rob Kearney, a cousin.

After Kearney’s visit, when Barack Obama made his own White House visit, a signed rugby ball was visible in the Oval Office. In a tweet, Kearney shared a picture of himself giving Biden the ball before “kicking practice in the garden”.

Story:

Axios is reporting that Joe Biden is considering delaying the repeal of Title 42 , after some moderate Democrats have broken with his administration over the decision to end the use of this policy to deny asylum claims at the US-Mexico border.

Title 42 is a law enacted by Donald Trump in March 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a World War II-era public health law that authorizes border officials to deport migrants and grants the government the “power to prohibit, in whole or in part, the introduction of persons and property” to stop a contagious disease from spreading in the US.

Since March 2020, the US has carried out more than 1.7 million migrant expulsions under Title 42. Most have been expelled by land to Mexico, with the Mexican government agreeing to accept expelled migrants if they are from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador.

Punchbowl News reported yesterday that nine senate Democrats have publicly expressed opposition to Biden’s decision to repeal Title 42.

“In the region where I’m from, we’re seeing infections rise. I think Philadelphia, for example, just returned to a mask mandate. So my hope is that that will be reconsidered appropriately,” Chris Coons, the Democratic senator from Delaware, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

The Biden administration is awaiting the guidance of public health officials on whether or not to appeal a federal judge’s ruling to overturn the national mask mandate for travel.

The Associated Press is reporting that the justice department said it would appeal Monday’s ruling by US district hudge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined the mandate was needed to protect public health.

“If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the public’s health after that assessment, the department of justice will appeal the district court’s decision,” the justice department said in a statement.

Before Monday’s ruling that overturned the mandate requiring mask coverings on planes, trains and other public transportation, the mandate was due to expire on 3 May.

“We will continue to assess the need for a mask requirement in those settings, based on several factors, including the US Covid-19 community levels, risk of circulating and novel variants, and trends in cases and disease severity,” a CDC spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday.

The CDC reiterated its recommendation that people wear masks on public transportation while indoors. The court’s order had caught the administration by surprise and left it struggling to grasp its impact both on the requirement’s end and on CDC’s authorities going forward.

Greetings, live blog readers. Here’s what we got ahead of us today:

Two days after the overturning of Joe Biden’s national mask mandate covering airplanes, airports and other public transportation, a Politico/Morning Consult poll is showing that most American voters are against the decision made by the conservative federal judge appointed by Donald Trump.

WIth coronavirus cases surging by 29% in the past two weeks, 49% of voters polled by Politico/Morning Consult before the overturning of the mask mandate said they thought it was too early to end the federal mask mandate for travel. Just 16% said it was the right time to end the mandate, with 11% saying it never should have been in place to begin with.

The poll found that 59% supported the original extension of the travel mask mandate issued the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 32% opposed it.

Yesterday, when asked if Americans should continue to wear masks on planes, Biden answered, “That’s up to them.” His press secretary, Jen Psaki, however, had much harsher words for the ruling.

“Public health decisions shouldn’t be made by the courts,” she said. “They should be made by public health experts. We’ve said from the start that our Covid response should be guided by the science and data and by experts.”

The Biden administration is now considering appealing the decision made by Florida district court judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle.

More to come.