All of President Joe Biden’s attempts to force the COVID-19 shot on American civilians have now been temporarily blocked by federal courts.
Just last month, the White House began directing federal agencies to halt suspending or firing any federal employees over not receiving the COVID-19 jab despite spending months promoting mandates as an urgent, top priority for the Biden administration.
On Tuesday, a federal judge in Georgia blocked the Biden administration’s vaccine requirements for federal contractors, which were supposed to officially go into effect on Jan. 4, 2o22. Just last week, U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove temporarily slapped down the same mandate for federal contractors located in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.
“Can the president use congressionally delegated authority to manage the federal procurement of goods and services to impose vaccines on the employees of federal contractors and subcontractors? In all likelihood, the answer to that question is no. So, for the reasons that follow, the pending request for a preliminary injunction will be GRANTED,” Tatenhove wrote in his opinion.
Days prior to judicial action on the federal contractor mandate, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana temporarily blocked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from enforcing their vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp in Missouri had already temporarily suspended the Biden administration’s vaccine requirements for health care institutions in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming that receive federal money. The ruling effectively prohibited hospitals and other healthcare entities in those states from getting rid of essential workers who have yet to get the COVID-19 jab.
In mid-November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued and reaffirmed the suspension of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees. The court ordered that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration “take no steps to implement or enforce” the jab requirement “until further court order,” forcing the agency to suspend its temporary rule.
These rulings by federal courts only offer temporary relief until the legal challenges can be worked out further. But the White House’s efforts to coerce businesses to, as White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “move forward with measures that will make their workplaces safer and protect their workforces from COVID-19” were met with a stern warning from judges across the United States.