Joe Biden has extended the federal national emergency declaration related to the Covid-19 pandemic past its expiration date, which would have been March 1, 2022. The Gateway Pundit reports that Biden sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., informing her of the extension, but did not provide an end date for the federal state of emergency.
Further, BNO News reports that Biden says the pandemic continues to cause “significant risk to public health and safety.” However, Covid cases have been dropping significantly over the past several weeks in America, kick-starting the rollback of restrictive mandates in many states, even progressive ones. For example, News 12 Long Island reported that Omicron cases in New York have dropped 40 percent in the last week, and health care workers are no longer required to take the Covid booster.
Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that as of February 2022, more than 213 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Amid declining cases across the country, Biden’s move to extend the federal emergency is confusing, especially as many states are making major moves to reopen and return to normal life.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Biden’s popularity among voters is tanking in light of the ravaged economy, hyperinflation, vaccine mandates, and badly botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. As previously reported by RSBN, a survey conducted by SSRS showed that 51 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independent voters don’t want to see Joe Biden run for reelection in 2024.
Biden’s extension of the federal emergency comes as no surprise to many who have anticipated the government’s apprehension to let go of its broad emergency powers. “It is essential to continue to combat and respond to Covid-19 with the full capacity and capability of the Federal Government,” Biden’s letter to Speaker Pelosi reads. However, with no stated end date in sight, it remains to be seen if Biden’s administration will ever let go of their emergency powers so long as they occupy the White House.
