Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is withdrawing his request for an emergency hearing in a lawsuit aimed at blocking Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ (D) mask mandate amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Kemp’s spokesperson Cody Hall released a statement to The Hill on Monday confirming the withdrawal while explaining the reason for it. He noted that the governor appreciated Bottoms’ recent decision to revise her mandate to a voluntary basis.
While Kemp’s office has clarified that the lawsuit has not been withdrawn, it has been noted that postponing the hearing for another date would be a better means of “productive, good-faith negotiations with city officials.”
“Given the threat of economic harm and immediate backlash from Atlanta’s business community, this overreach by the Mayor was our top concern and the primary reason behind the litigation,” Hall said. “Now, Mayor Bottoms has taken several opportunities to publicly explain that the Phase One rollback is purely voluntary, and we appreciate this concession.”
Kemp’s latest decision to withdraw from the hearing follows his lawsuit meant to prohibit mayors from issuing face mask mandates in their city. The Republican governor raised questions after suing Bottoms due to multiple factors.
Although more than 20 mayors in the state of Georgia have opted to enforce mask mandates, Kemp singled out Bottoms and sued her personally for the mask order she issued in Atlanta. After the lawsuit was filed, two judges quickly rescued themselves from the case.
Bottoms’ mask order came as the entire state of Georgia faced an uptick in coronavirus cases following Kemp’s decision to abruptly reopen the state after the shutdown.
Georgia officials also received criticism for skipping over checkpoints and allegations that officials were doctoring statistics to reopen the state. In fact, even President Donald Trump expressed disapproval of Kemp’s decisions and opted to distance from his push to reopen.
With more than 170,000 coronavirus cases, Georgia has emerged as one of the country’s hot spots as mayors continue to mitigate the spread of the virus.