Reynolds did not rule out legal action if the U.S. Education Department decides to investigate Iowa and other states that have banned local school boards from requiring that students and teachers wear masks.
“If we’ve got to go to court, we will do it,” the governor said.
Reynolds took umbrage at federal directives for states and at Biden’s stance that states should “at least get out of the way” of schools and educators taking steps to protect children in classrooms.
“I’ve been dealing with COVID for over a year and he needs to do his job,” Reynolds said. “He needs to address and get Americans out of Afghanistan, he needs to close that southern border.”
“We have a crisis at the border, a disaster in Afghanistan, and inflation is soaring. President Biden is failing on each of these issues, yet he is now launching an attack against governors like myself for trusting our people to decide what’s best for them. The president’s priorities are misplaced. I have had enough, and I know Iowans have, too,” she added.
During a stop Thursday in northeast Iowa, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Red Oak Republican, stood by her southwest Republican colleague, saying Reynolds and governors of every state should be allowed to maintain their jurisdictions without federal interference.
