Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Newsmax that Democratic governors are finally rolling back COVID-19 mask mandates despite contrary public health guidance from the Biden administration.
''I don't think we should be surprised that the White House may be the last place to finally get some common sense,'' Paul, an ophthalmologist, said Tuesday on ''Eric Bolling: The Balance.''
Democratic governors, he continued, ''are hearing from moms and dads and teachers and kids that the science doesn't appear to be working for mass preventing infection and that they're tired of wearing [masks]. So, I think ultimately we're going to get to a groundswell, and I think the Democrat governors are starting to sense this.''
Paul's comments come after five Democratic-run states — California, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon — began rolling back mask mandates in indoor establishments and schools on Monday.
A day later, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy challenged the decision in a hearing with the Senate Finance Committee.
''What we know … is that masks are a helpful tool to help reduce spread of the virus,'' Murthy said. ''When we look at schools in fact that have masking, there is less spread, and there are in fact fewer school closures as a result of there being less spread of the infection.''
Paul added that he believes that ''nothing the government did changed the trajectory of the virus.''
''I think being 6 feet apart, I think wearing a mask, I think putting up plexiglass — none of these things really worked,'' he said. ''Shutting the economy [down] didn't work, the lockdowns didn't work, not being in school didn't work. So, we need to understand and figure out a truth so we don't do this again.''
Note: See Newsmax TV now carried in more than 100 million U.S. homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Frontier Ch. 115, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, AT&T TV Ch 349, FUBO and major OTT platforms like Roku, YouTube, Xumo, Pluto and most smart TV's including Samsung+, Sony, LG, Vizio and more – Find All Systems that Carry Newsmax – Click Here
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.