GOP-led states sue US government over vaccine mandate
Eleven states with Republican governors have taken court action against the Biden administration, filing lawsuits against the US government in an effort to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors.
The move comes after President Joe Biden issued a pair of executive orders on Sept. 9 requiring all executive branch federal employees and federal contractors to be vaccinated.
The defying Republican-led states filed a joint lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District Of Missouri by 10 states, Arkansas, Alaska, Missouri, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, claiming Biden’s executive orders were a violation of the federal procurement law.
Texas filed a separate suit on the same issue, and Florida filed one on Thursday.
The lawsuits on Friday described the mandate as "sweeping in its scope" and "unconstitutional and unlawful," citing a constitutional amendment on state powers and federal laws on government procurement.
The mandate "is an abuse of power and we won't stand for it," Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said in a video on Twitter.
"If the federal government attempts to unconstitutionally exert its will and force federal contractors to mandate vaccinations, the workforce and businesses could be decimated, further exacerbating the supply chain and workforce crises," Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, said in a statement. "The federal government should not be mandating vaccinations, and that's why we filed suit today -- to halt this illegal, unconstitutional action."
New Hampshire's Republican Attorney General John Formella said in a statement that COVID vaccines are safe, effective and encouraged but that the benefits "do not justify violating the law."
Biden has argued that sweeping vaccine mandates will help end the deadly pandemic.
In his speech on vaccine mandates, Biden said, “My message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to wait for? We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin.”
The White House set a Dec. 8 deadline for employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated.
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