Biden Administration Considering Domestic Travel Restrictions, Including Florida, As COVID Mutation Surges

More decisions about your freedoms are on the way. 

The Biden administration is considering imposing domestic travel restrictions, including on Florida, as coronavirus mutations surge,according to McClatchy DC.

“There are active conversations about what could help mitigate spread here, but we have to follow the data and what’s going to work. We did this with South Africa, we did this with Brazil, because we got clear guidance,” a White House official said. “We’re having conversations about anything that would help mitigate spread."

Two federal government officials underscored that no policy announcement is imminent and all travel restrictions would be "taken in partnership with state and local governments."

Another White House official declared we are in a war with the virus. “This is a war and we’re at battle with the virus. War is messy and unpredictable, and all options are on the table."

How comforting.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not on board with the idea. A spokeswoman for DeSantis says the governor “opposes travel restrictions and does not believe diagnostic tests should be a prerequisite to domestic air travel.”

It's unclear if B.1.1.7 —  the variant that first gained attention in the United Kingdom — will begin to surge in other states as it has in Florida. While B.1.1.7 accounts for 1% to 4% of new cases nationally, DC Director Rochelle Walensky adds its presence is lopsided in certain areas. She didn't specify which locations, though research teams estimate the variant makes up 15% of new casesin Florida. That's up from just 1% in January, meaning numbers spike rapidly.

So, could these discussed domestic travel restrictions come to fruition? Like most topics of late, that's up for interpretation, at least for now.

Though the U.S. Supreme Courthas long held that Americans have a constitutional right to travel between states, the Public Health Service Act says federal officials have the powers to restrict travel between states during a pandemic. That said, not everyone is convinced that those powers will be enforced. Meryl Chertoff, an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law, is unsure if modern-day courts would uphold broad federal restrictions on domestic travel because it'd enter uncharted territory.

"It’s possible, but it’s totally untested,” Chertoff says.

If she had to guess, Chertoff believes the courts would look more favorably on measures aimed towards individuals suspected or confirmed to have the disease. As McClatchy DC reports, the CDC typically uses those powers only with individuals who have tested positive or "were likely exposed to a communicable disease," not to "wide swathes of the population who may be at risk."

A broad restriction to a large population like this is extreme and likely unnecessary.

Nothing is imminent, yet nothing should be ruled out. I don't doubt that many in Washington and fans of the Biden administration would support domestic travel restrictions, particularly with Florida at the center of it. Chertoff accurately explains how this would be yet another excessive reaction:

“That’s a very severe restriction on personal liberty,” Chertoff goes on. “If one took that to court, the question would be: Isn’t there a less restrictive means to accomplish that objective?”

Unfortunately, our leaders haven't looked for less restrictive measures over the past year. They've sought the opposite. If an attempt to issue domestic travel restrictions to this degree is next, it'd be frustrating yet fitting.





























Written by
Bobby Burack is a writer for OutKick where he reports and analyzes the latest topics in media, culture, sports, and politics.. Burack has become a prominent voice in media and has been featured on several shows across OutKick and industry related podcasts and radio stations.