Biden’s Mandate Halted

The Biden administration’s mandate for federal contractors’ employees to be vaccinated will be halted nationwide, amid a slew of challenges from states that say the president overstepped his authority in requiring the shots.

Led by Georgia, the seven states that challenged the mandate set to take effect on Jan. 4 are likely to succeed in their lawsuits against the administration’s order, U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker of the Southern District of Georgia said in an order issued Tuesday.

“Yet another one of President Biden’s vaccine mandates have been temporarily shut down because the states—including Idaho—took a stand against his unprecedented government overreach into Americans’ lives and businesses,” Little said in the statement. “All three mandates are now completely stalled. We will continue to press forward in our fight against the federal government’s bad policies.”

The government contractor mandate spurred a series of federal lawsuits from states seeking to block its implementation, including the one before Baker, where Georgia was also joined by Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia. Also suing are Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma.
They argue that the administration lacks the authority to require vaccinations and the mandate violates the U.S. Constitution.