The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit halted President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate Monday after a lawsuit from Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.
"We do not, and cannot, rule on the efficacy of any vaccine, the wisdom of the President’s action, or even whether or not this action would, in fact, increase economy and efficiency in federal contracting. Today, we are asked, where Congress has not authorized the issuance of this mandate, whether the President may nonetheless exercise this power. We hold that he may not," the ruling states.
"As the Government’s brief makes clear, questions surrounding the vaccine and the pandemic generally are undoubtedly of “vast economic and political significance.” Id. Congress has not spoken clearly to authorize such a dramatic shift in the exercise of the President’s power under the Procurement Act. Nor are historical exercises of that power sufficient to demonstrate a long-standing understanding that the Procurement Act could be used in this way," the Court argued. "The President’s use of procurement regulations to reach through an employing contractor to force obligations on individual employees is truly unprecedented. As such, Executive Order 14042 is unlawful, and the Plaintiff States have consequently demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits."
🚨BREAKING 🚨
— AG Jeff Landry (@AGJeffLandry) December 19, 2022
The 5th Circuit affirmed the injunction against Biden's #COVID19 shot mandate for federal contractors.
"Today is a victory for freedom. We will continue to stand up against these abuses of power that threaten us now and in the future."https://t.co/TcxyhnxOMt
In September 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, which is ineffective at preventing the spread of the disease, for federal contractors and government employees. He also issued a mandate through an executive order for private businesses. He justified the mandate by claiming large employers are subject to federal OSHA standards and regulations.
In January 2022 the private sector OSHA mandate was rejected by the Supreme Court, but the mandate for government employees and federal contractors was upheld.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court BLOCKS the federal government's COVID-19 vaccine-or-test requirement for large workplaces. The court ALLOWS a vaccine mandate for workers at federally funded health care facilities to take effect nationwide.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) January 13, 2022