Fauci's stance on mask ruling undermines checks and balances

Last month, White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed his displeasure when a U.S. District Court judge ruled against the CDC-recommended mask mandate on U.S. airlines and airports.

Responding to the decision, per Fox News, he said: “I clearly disagree, I mean those types of things should be decided as a public health issue by the public health organizations, in this case the CDC. This is a public health matter, not a judicial matter.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The head of that department, currently Secretary Xavier Becerra, was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Democrat-controlled Senate on March 18, 2021. As a result, the CDC is ultimately overseen by a political appointee who ultimately considers the president of the United States his boss.

Dr. Fauci’s concern, “that the principle of a court overruling a public health judgment by a qualified organization like the CDC is disturbing in the precedent in might send,” is arguing for an unchecked power for the president. This argument directly undercuts the basis of the U.S. government of checks and balances.

Suggesting one branch of government knows better than another exposes a fundamental misunderstanding of our form of government. Ironically, the individual making such a statement is also largely responsible for the greatest receding of individual freedoms in our nation’s history.

Imagine if the same standard of “experts” was applied to other aspects of our government. Is Dr. Fauci suggesting intelligence and military experts are best qualified to determine if waterboarding is constitutional? Are energy experts best qualified to determine drilling locations and methods of extraction? Even more controversially, are law enforcement experts best qualified to determine reasons and methods for traffic stops?

No branch of government should ever be charged with complete authority over any issue. The CDC may be “experts” in medical concerns, but they are not in balancing mitigation with personal freedom (which was made abundantly clear over the last two years).

What Dr. Fauci does not appear to appreciate is that our country is constantly in a battle between freedom and security. To get more of one requires the giving up some of the other. The public appetite is constantly shifting depending on current events.

For example, after 9/11 the nation shifted significantly toward demanding security. Government responded by creating the Homeland Security Department, changing airport security and passing the Patriot Act. But, as time passed, demand for the new powers in the Patriot Act decreased.

After George Floyd’s death, there was a backlash against strict security measures as protests demanded less security and more freedom. The result of changes to accommodate the new priority was more crime, which is now leading to new calls to reprioritize security.

The courts job is to regulate the moving pendulum between the two competing interests and protect freedom from too much security. It is a vital piece of the balance to make sure when security is the priority it never goes too far to block the inevitable prioritization of freedom later.

Dr. Fauci’s minimization of this key component is extremely significant considering the influence he holds in governmental policy. Respecting this separation of power should be a prerequisite to the job which involves advocating for unprecedented personal freedom rollbacks.

I pray we never again lose our balance between freedom and security.

— This is the opinion of Times Writers Group member Dan Johnson, a Sauk Rapids resident and chairman of the Benton County Republican Party. His column is published the first Thursday of the month. He can be contacted at bentongopchair@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Fauci's stance on mask ruling undermines checks and balances