The White House is being pulled in multiple directions as it grapples with a federal court’s decision to strike down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s public transportation mask mandate.

Roughly six months before the 2022 midterm elections, the White House has to manage COVID-19-anxious Democrats as well as pandemic-weary independents and angry, energized Republicans. At the same time, President Joe Biden has to balance his campaign promise to be led by science by supporting a beleaguered CDC.