What to know about Judge Kathryn Mizelle, who struck down the travel mask mandate

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down the federal mask mandate for airplanes and other modes of public transportation Monday, writing in a 59-page ruling that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had exceeded its authority and failed to follow proper rulemaking procedures.

That decision, which led to U.S. airlines and other transportation hubs to promptly drop their mask mandates, has elicited mixed responses from travelers and concern from public health experts.

So who exactly is the judge at the center of it all?

Mizelle sits on the District Court for by former President Donald Trump in September 2020 at age 33 by a 49-to-41 Senate vote later that year.