Senator Joe Manchin (W.Va.), a Democrat by title yet often a nemesis to his Party, indicates he may side with Republicans in pending legislation regarding vaccine mandates.
The Epoch Times notes that “Manchin’s defection would be enough to overturn the private sector mandate entirely.”
The Biden Administration is strenuously pushing vaccine mandates, in spite of reports of increases in adverse reactions to vaccines.
In a message to the nation in September, President Biden introduced a vaccine mandate for companies employing more than 100 people and told unvaccinated citizens that his “patience is wearing thin.”
Several weeks ago Fauci shared seven reasons children five years old and above should be vaccinated—calling it “essential.”
Biden’s bid to enforce his vaccine mandate included declaring a “temporary” state of emergency and charging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as OSHA, to “ensure [that a firm’s] workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work,” according to Epoch Times.
Employers not complying with the vaccine mandate would be subject to hefty fines.
In response to significant public outcry, on Nov. 18, Republican Senators moved to challenge the measure.
All 50 Republican Senators signed on to a formal challenge to the mandate, citing authority to do so under the Congressional Review Act, which grants Congress the authority to overturn new federal regulations.
The Congressional Review Act allows federal regulations to be overturned with a simple majority vote, which means Manchin’s defection could be a deal-breaker for Biden’s push for “the jab.”
Manchin has not committed to voting against the mandate but stated, “We’re working through it.”
The Conservative Brief reports that the vote should take place next week.
After two judicial setbacks in less than a month, the Biden Administration is looking for a win.
Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that to protect “our constitutional structure…the liberty of individuals to make intensely personal decisions according to their own convictions—even, or perhaps particularly when those decisions frustrate government officials, must be upheld.”
Following Engelhardt’s presidential rebuke, OSHA announced that they were suspending the implementation and enforcement of the policy effective immediately.
State-level GOP leaders are also challenging the mandate.
The National Academy for State Health Policy reports that two states have banned vaccine mandates by private employers, and at least 27 states are suing the Biden Administration.
The Times report notes that Attorneys General from 24 states, who typically do not work formally with each other, have banded “together in opposition to the measure.”
An excerpt from their letter to the Biden Administration reads:
“Mr. President, your vaccination mandate represents not only a threat to individual liberty, but a public health disaster that will displace vulnerable workers and exacerbate a nationwide hospital staffing crisis, with severe consequences for all Americans.”
The letter concluded: “If your Administration does not alter its course, the undersigned state Attorneys General will seek every available legal option to hold you accountable and uphold the rule of law.”
If Manchin sides with Republicans in opposing the mandate, the Biden Administration will be left with few options regarding implementation.
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