Is the pandemic over now, or will it end in May, or August, or after Election Day? Depending on the issue, the Biden administration’s answer is “all of the above.”
The pandemic is over now when it comes to masking at the White House and the impressively low unemployment rate. When it comes to masks on transit and Title 42, the Trump-era policy of turning away migrants at the border, the pandemic will end in May. When it comes to ending the student loan repayment pause, the pandemic will end on Aug. 31, or maybe after Election Day.
“Between now and Aug. 31, it’s either going to be extended or we’re going to make a decision, as [White House chief of staff] Ron [Klain] referenced, about canceling student debt,” top administration spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on the Pod Save America podcast.
On April 6, Biden announced the latest extension to the student loan repayment pause with a statement reading in part, “We are still recovering from the pandemic and the unprecedented economic disruption it caused.” Less than 24 hours later, Biden touted low unemployment figures with another statement saying, “America is back to work.”
In March, the White House dropped its mask mandate along with the rest of Washington, D.C., but is still requiring masks aboard Air Force One and has promised to appeal a federal judge’s decision nixing the federal mask mandate.
Biden announced he would end Title 42 despite record immigration surges at the border on May 23, and reports circulated that parts of it were already going unenforced by late April.
“It’s a bit all over the map, isn’t it?” said Republican strategist Doug Heye. “It seems like they want to convey two messages at once.”
Despite the mixed signals, it’s clear that the time of COVID-related mandates is ending, Heye added, noting that Democratic governors led the push to end forced masking this spring.
That scenario may be playing out again.
The U.S. Senate voted to repeal the federal mask mandate in March, with eight Democrats joining Republicans in the effort. More recently, a group of centrist Democrats led by Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona introduced legislation that would keep Title 42 in place until at least 60 days after Biden ends the nation’s COVID emergency, attempting to tie the policy explicitly to broader pandemic measures.
After the federal mask mandate was struck down, videos circulated of airline pilots making midflight announcements met by claps and cheers from passengers. One crew blasted the 1980 Kool & the Gang hit “Celebration” over the plane’s public address system. Airlines had pushed to end the mandate, under which their employees had to wear masks all day while working.
Democratic leaders counter that the mandate remains popular. A poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 56% of respondents supported mask requirements on public transportation, with 24% opposed and 20% undecided.
Another poll was more split. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 51% wanted the mask mandate to expire, but with a sharp partisan divide. More than 7 in 10 Democrats wanted it extended, while 76% of Republicans wanted it gone.
There may be disagreement even within the Biden administration on where to go next. Psaki said the White House was disappointed to see the federal mandate end, but when the president was asked if people should wear masks on planes, he said it’s “up to them.” Hours later, the White House announced it would appeal the judge’s decision pending CDC advice.
Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was also behind the decision to scrap Title 42, citing “current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19” as explanation for why it should end.
Despite the pending wind-downs, Democratic strategist Brad Bannon encourages Biden to continue all remaining pandemic-related measures for now, including Title 42, due to the looming threat of new virus waves.
“I think the administration should follow the dictates of science,” he said. “The Trump administration found out what the science was and did the exact opposite. I hope this administration relies on the science and follows it.”
Bannon fears loosening measures such as mask mandates too soon could fuel cases, leading to another round of calls for tighter restrictions.
“Every time we’ve relaxed in the fight against COVID, it has come back with a vengeance,” he said. “My advice to the administration is to err on the side of caution.”
