Judge blocks mandate for federal workers © Associated Press/Matt Rourke Another vaccine mandate setback for the Biden administration. A federal judge in Texas on Friday blocked President Biden's mandate for federal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the latest blow to the White House's vaccination efforts. Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed by former President Trump, wrote that the order exceeded the president's authority. The case is about "whether the President can, with the stroke of a pen and without the input of Congress, require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment," Brown wrote. But: The Department of Justice immediately said it would appeal. And White House press secretary Jen Psaki said 98 percent of federal workers are in compliance. The order comes after the Supreme Court earlier this month blocked Biden's mandate that employees at businesses with 100 or more workers get vaccinated or regularly tested, while upholding the vaccination mandate for health care workers. The federal government's power to mandate vaccination for its own employees is thought to be on stronger legal footing, though Friday's ruling underscores the ongoing nature of the dispute. "I’m sorry, but this is just insane," Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, wrote on Twitter. "The federal government lacks the power to require its *own* employees to be vaccinated?" Read more here. |
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