GOP Governor Won’t Comply With Biden Face Mask Mandate: He ‘Doesn’t Have the Authority’

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem says she won’t enforce a national face mask mandate if it is issued by President-elect Joe Biden.

“It’s a good day for freedom. Joe Biden realizes that the president doesn’t have the authority to institute a mask mandate,” Noem’s communications director Ian Fury said this week. “For that matter, neither does Gov. Noem, which is why she has provided her citizens with the full scope of the science and trusted them to make the best decisions for themselves and their loved ones.”

Since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Noem has adopted an approach that she says is focused on the Constitution and “people’s freedoms and liberties,” which has generated much criticism from many Democratic politicians and media figures.

“The facts on the ground here did not support shelter-in-place,” Noem said in April. “We just didn’t have the spread. For me, personally, I took an oath to uphold our state Constitution. I took an oath when I was in Congress to uphold the United States Constitution. So, I believe in people’s freedoms and liberties, and I always balance that with every decision that I make as governor. I get overly concerned with leaders who take too much power in a time of crisis because I think that’s how we directly lose our country someday by leaders overstepping their proper role.” (Read more from “GOP Governor Won’t Comply With Biden Face Mask Mandate: He ‘Doesn’t Have the Authority'” HERE)

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