Full List of Democrats Who Voted To Ban Mask Mandates

Republican Sen. J.D. Vance received support from 10 Democrats as part of a successful amendment prohibiting the Department of Transportation from using any federal funds to enforce future mask mandates.

The amendment to the Senate minibus appropriations bill passed Wednesday by a 59-38 margin and prevents federal mask mandates on passenger airlines, commuter rail, rapid transit buses, and any other transportation program funded through the 2024 fiscal year.

These are the 10 Democrats who voted for the amendment: Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin); Michael Bennet (Colorado); Sherrod Brown (Ohio); Tim Kaine (Virginia); Mark Kelly (Arizona); Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota); Joe Manchin (West Virginia); Jacky Rosen (Nevada); Jean Shaheen (New Hampshire); and Jon Tester (Montana).

Three senators—Democrats John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) and Alex Padilla (California), and Republican Tim Scott (South Carolina—did not vote. Of the three independent senators, Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) was the only one to vote in favor.

"This is a massive victory for personal freedom in this country," Vance said in a post-vote statement. "We saw countless abuses of authority throughout the COVID pandemic, and the American people were justifiably enraged by unscientific mask mandates.

"Today, the United States Senate took an emphatic step toward common sense and individual liberty. I'm proud of what we've accomplished here and look forward to continuing the fight."

In September, Vance, who represents Ohio, introduced the Freedom to Breathe Act—a bill intended to prevent the reimposition of federal mask mandates across the entire United States, in response to some businesses and colleges and universities reimposing mask mandates in the summer due to upticks in COVID-19 cases.

In September, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio announced that all staff will be required to wear masks on the premises beginning September 25.

"This decision was made to promote the safety of our patients, families, visitors, and employees, based on evidence that masks are effective in reducing the spread of respiratory illness," the hospital said in a statement.

A recent map published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that, from October 8 to October 14, COVID-19 deaths increased just 2.5 percent nationally when compared to the previous week. Some states, including Ohio's neighbor Michigan, with a 33.3 percent rise, reported much larger increases.

Vance said prior to the vote on the Senate floor that while COVID will unfortunately be with Americans for likely the rest of their lives, its presence should not constitute "public health panic" for a respiratory virus which is mostly unable to be stopped or controlled on a widespread level.

He alluded to altercations on flights between passengers and flight attendants during the height of the pandemic due to mask enforcement. Vance also mentioned the developmental delays to schoolchildren and division that resulted among American families.

"If people want to wear masks, of course they should be able to," he said. "But if people don't want to wear masks on airplanes, on transit, they should have that option as well, and that's all that my amendment does.

"It is narrowly scoped. It applies for the next 11 months and applies to transportation cases. And I think it is reasonable to not ask the American people to reenter the era of mask mandates."

Brown, who along with Vance represents Ohio, told Cleveland.com that he supported the amendment because "the pandemic's over."

"I've got no problems with it," Brown said. "I don't think there should be mask mandates."

A spokesperson for Brown told Newsweek the senator had no additional comment.

Newsweek reached out via email to Vance, the other nine Democrats who voted for the amendment, and the CDC for comment.