South Dakota senator moves to roll back child mask mandates

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) thinks children shouldn’t be forced to mask up. After talking to a concerned Head Start teacher from South Dakota, he’s working to roll back those mandates in every state.

Last week, the Senate passed a joint resolution condemning mask mandates for toddlers.

The measure passed with 7 Democrats in support: including both Democratic senators from Nevada and Arizona.

Sen. Thune believes it could be the sign of a greater shift in easing mandates around the coronavirus, and hopes it will pressure the Biden administration for more rollbacks.

“The toddler mask mandate is a good example of a government overreach at a time when we just don’t need this anymore, and parents want to be in control,” said Thune. “They’re tired of being told by the government how to take care of their kids.”

Joint resolutions express the sentiment of Congress. In this case, the resolution says lawmakers disapprove of rules requiring children in Head Start programs to wear masks and those rules cannot be enforced.

Notably, the resolution passed as the United States crossed a key mile marker: one million deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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