Idaho's lieutenant governor banned mask mandates while the governor was out of state
While the governor's away, the lieutenant governor will play — or, in the case of Idaho's Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, she will issue an executive order prohibiting mask mandates, despite there never being a statewide ban.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) was in Tennessee on Thursday for a GOP conference, and during his absence, McGeachin — who announced last week she is running for governor in 2022 — banned mask mandates. McGeachin tweeted that she issued the order, which does not apply to hospitals, health care facilities, or federal buildings, "to protect the rights and liberties of individuals and businesses."
While some school districts and cities, like Boise, did have requirements for face coverings, the state has never had a blanket mask mandate. Idaho has reported more than 191,800 COVID-19 cases, with over 2,090 confirmed deaths.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The governor's office told KTVB that McGeachin did not let Little — who has not revealed if he will seek re-election — know ahead of time that she planned on issuing the order. "Idahoans value local control and the local approach to addressing important issues," Little's office said, adding that there will be "a thorough review of this executive action."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Proposed Trump-Putin talks in Budapest on holdSpeed Read Trump apparently has no concrete plans to meet with Putin for Ukraine peace talks
-
Bolivia elects centrist over far-right presidential rivalSpeed Read Relative political unknown Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator, was elected president
-
Madagascar president in hiding, refuses to resignSpeed Read Andry Rajoelina fled the country amid Gen Z protests and unrest
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace planSpeed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
-
Israel intercepts 2nd Gaza aid flotilla in a weekSpeed Read The Israeli military intercepted a flotilla of nine boats with 145 activists aboard along with medical and food aid
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime ministerSpeed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s planSpeed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages



