Tipsheet

Republicans Force Biden to Officially End the COVID-19 Emergency

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  April 10, 2023 7:15 PM

After the White House told reporters to go home for the day and appearing only at the Easter Egg Roll Monday morning, President Joe Biden quietly and unceremoniously signed away the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. 

"On Monday, April 10, 2023, the President signed into law: H.J.Res. 7, which terminates the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic," the White House released in a memo. 

Originally Biden planned to officially end the emergency in May after saying months ago the pandemic was over. Republicans on Capitol Hill forced his hand to do it now by authoring H.J. Res. 7. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is still fighting in federal court to reimplement mask mandates on public transportation and maintain the government's pandemic power.  

On April 18, 2022 U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down President Joe Biden's mask mandate for air and rail transportation. The Department of Justice quickly appealed the decision after a request from the Centers for Disease Control. 

Nearly a year later, federal attorneys are still working to force masking on transportation.

DOJ continues this fight despite President Joe Biden declaring the pandemic is over and after a recent admission from White House COVID Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha that masks don't work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.