DCCC chair says Democrats shouldn't be 'falling in love' with mask mandates
'It's not a pivot, it's an inflection point,' Rep. Sean Maloney said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chairman Rep. Sean Maloney, D-N.Y., said Thursday on "Morning Joe" that Democrats shouldn't be "falling in love" with mask mandates.
Co-host Willie Geist asked about Maloney's past comments when he said, "It's time to give people their lives back."
UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 27: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., prepares for an interview during the last House votes of the week in the Capitol on Friday, September 27, 2019. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
"That felt to a lot of people like a pivot," Geist said. "We've seen the dominos fall in blue states starting with New Jersey and Gov. Murphy last week getting rid of the mask mandates. What has changed for you and what do you see ahead?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's not a pivot, it's an inflection point," Maloney said. The DCCC chair noted that with good vaccine coverage, therapeutics and access to testing, these mask mandates are no longer necessary.
"We as Democrats should not be, out of some sense of correctness, falling in love with [mask] mandates when they aren't necessary," Maloney said. "We should get rid of them as quickly as we responsibly can."
The congressman previously said that since cases were down and vaccines are widely available, New York was ready to roll back mandates.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"With science as our guide, we're ready to start getting back to normal," Maloney said in a Feb. 9 tweet.
Several states, including New Jersey, New York, California, Oregon, Delaware and Connecticut, recently announced plans to lift mask mandates. Some states removed the indoor masking requirement but kept the school mask mandate in place.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., eased indoor masking requirements, but has kept the mandate for students and teachers to mask in place.
Kathy Hochul, governor of New York, speaks during a new conference at the Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany, New York, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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"This fight is not over, we’re not surrendering. This is not disarmament," Hochul said. "But again the trends are very, very positive."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., kept the state's school mask requirement in place while easing it elsewhere. Gov. Charlie Baker, D-Mass., announced his state's plans to lift the school mask mandate on Feb. 28.
"Given the extremely low risk to young people, the widespread availability and the proven effectiveness of vaccines, and the distribution of accurate test protocols and tests, it’s time to give our kids a sense of normalcy and lift the mask mandate on a statewide basis for schools," he said.
Gov. Larry Hogan, R-Md., recently called on the Board of Education to end the school masking requirement, saying that hospitalizations in Maryland have dropped by 71 percent. Hogan ended the indoor mask requirement in May 2021.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He said that the state should "move toward normalcy for students and families by rescinding the school masking policy."