House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Breitbart News in an exclusive statement Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s mask mandate seeks to enforce a “perpetual pandemic state.”

McCarthy spoke to Breitbart News as the Biden administration looks to revive the mandate to have Americans — including fully vaccinated Americans — wear masks indoor in places with high coronavirus infection rates.

The California Republican said Biden’s reversal could cast doubt on the efficacy of the coronavirus vaccines and force children to wear masks despite the science showing that children are at very low risk of contracting the virus.

“Vaccines work and vaccinated Americans should not have to wear masks. The same bureaucratic ‘public health experts’ who completely upended our society by pushing lockdowns and yearlong school closures now want to force Americans to return to pre-vaccine control measures, ” McCarthy told Breitbart News. “By forcing vaccinated Americans to return to masks, the Biden administration is not only casting doubt on a safe and effective vaccine, but contradicting why vaccines exist. Children should not be forced to wear masks in classrooms for 8+ hours when the actual science proves they are at low risk of contracting or spreading the virus.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said as recently as last week that the agency had no plans to change its guidance, unless there was a significant change in the “science.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci claimed Sunday that the coronavirus pandemic is a “dynamic situation” when asked about the Biden administration’s potential decision to reimpose mask mandates.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki struggled to explain why Americans would have to wear a mask again if the vaccines effectively guard against the coronavirus.

She claimed:

Because public health leaders in our administration have made the determination, based on data, that that is a way to make sure they’re protected, their loved ones are protected, and that’s an extra step, given the transmissibility of the virus … that they’re advising people to take.

McCarthy said the Biden mask mandate serves as the latest instance of leftist politicians aiming to maintain the Americans’ lives under the coronavirus lockdown policies.

“Make no mistake — the threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state.”

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.