The move comes amid a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, and would keep the requirements in place through May 3.
Citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the order was needed to monitor the recent rise of cases, and the spread of the COVID-19 subvariant BA.2, making up 85% of U.S. cases:
"...what they're looking at is that since early April, there's been an increase in the seven-day moving average of the cases in the United States. So what they're trying to do is give a little bit more time to assess its potential impact. The rise of the cases have on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths and the health care system capacity..."
Industry groups and Republican lawmakers want the administration to immediately end the 14-month-old mask mandate.
While Airlines for America, a trade group, on Wednesday in a letter urged Biden's administration "to lean into science and research, which clearly support lifting the mask mandate."
Last month, the U.S. Senate voted 57-40 to overturn the public health order requiring masks on airplanes and other forms of public transportation, drawing a veto threat from Biden.
The CDC first issued a public health order requiring masks in interstate transportation and at transit hubs in February 2021 - the Transportation Security Administration then enforced that order.
