COVID pivot: Dems do 180 on pandemic response, attempt to rewrite history

With the midterm elections in sight, President Biden and fellow Democrats in Congress and governors' mansions nationwide are completing a 180 on their COVID-19 response, abandoning the president's promise to "shut down" the virus as Americans say they want to "get on with their lives."

In the process, Democrats have begun to lift key COVID-19 restrictions and return to normal life — the same approach, long embraced by red states, that they once rebuked as cruel and dangerous. Yet Biden and his Democratic allies are now taking credit for ending the pandemic while adopting these same policies.

On Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, both Democrats, announced they will end mandates in their states requiring face coverings in most indoor public settings. However, masking rules for schools will remain in place.

Several other blue states — New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Oregon, and California — are also lifting their indoor masking requirements in the coming days. All but California said they'll no longer require masking in schools.