Thread by @jrwhitehead, You might ask how the President can change state orders. Most state [...]

Jon Whitehead

jrwhitehead

You might ask how the President can change state orders.

Most state orders import the federal "essential / non-essential" list that does, in fact, originate with a Presidential Policy Directive. (PPD-21). https://twitter.com/nprpolitics/status/1263891875989159944

https://twitter.com/nprpolitics/status/1263891875989159944

I imagine the administration will amend PPD-21 to state that Churches should be accommodated by the same rules, given the constitutional protections of religious worship.

States will then have to prove their own exclusion of churches meets strict scrutiny. But most of their "essential" lists already allow far bigger gatherings than most churches.

Here's PPD-21, as issued by President Obama. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/02/12/presidential-policy-directive-critical-infrastructure-security-and-resil

Presidential Policy Directive -- Critical Infrastructure Security and

PRESIDENTIAL POLICY DIRECTIVE/PPD-21 SUBJECT: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/02/12/presidential-policy-directive-critical-infrastructure-security-and-resil

Which then gets turned into the "essential" list at the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): https://www.cisa.gov/identifying-critical-infrastructure-during-covid-19

Of course, "essential" doesn't mean "no restrictions." And "essential" doesn't mean people will, or should, come back like before! https://www.kansascity.com/news/coronavirus/article242926546.html

Churchgoers less likely to attend services as COVID-19 restrictions lifted, poll shows

As coronavirus restrictions are being lifted across the United States, a recent poll suggests churches may be more empty than they were before the pandemic began.

https://www.kansascity.com/news/coronavirus/article242926546.html

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