Idaho Gov. Brad Little was out of state at a conference, so Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin signed an executive order forbidding the state, municipalities and public schools from requiring masks.
Lt. Gov. McGeachin recently announced that she would be taking on Little if he runs for reelection. (They are both Republicans).
McGeachin’s order says that wearing masks had done “significant physical, mental, social and economic harm,” that they failed to serve a health or safety purpose and that they “unnecessarily restrict the rights and liberties of individuals and business.”
KTVB-TV reports that McGeachin did not tell Gov. Little that she would be issuing the order ahead of time.
The Idaho Stateman newspaper reports that McGeachin has consistently criticized Little’s actions during the pandemic scare, decrying his restrictions as government overreach. They reportedly have not spoken in more than three weeks.
McGeachin has defied Little and his administration throughout the pandemic...
She has attended or supported rallies opposing Little’s stay-home order and has been urging him to let businesses re-open. She defied his state order earlier this month to attend an event at a North Idaho brewery that re-opened despite Little’s order.
She took the governor to task earlier this month in an op-ed piece writing, “I lose sleep at night because the heavy hand of our government is hurting so many Idahoans. The effects of the executive branch’s unilateral decisions will impact us for years.”
She pointed out that Gov. Little campaigned on a promise of imposing the “lightest hand of government”, writing “to me, this means getting out of the way and letting Idahoans get back to work.”