19 states filed four separate lawsuits on Friday attempting to stop Joe Biden’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors.
18 states requested that a federal judge reject Biden’s requirement that all federal contractor employees be vaccinated. The states argue that the mandate violates federal procurement law and is an overreach of federal power.
The state of Texas filed its own separate lawsuit on the same day, Gov. Greg Abbott revealed.
Attorney Generals in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming signed on to one lawsuit, which was filed in a federal district court in Missouri.
A separate group of states including Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Georgia.
Upon announcing the lawsuit, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said, “If the federal government attempts to unconstitutionally exert its will and force federal contractors to mandate vaccinations, the workforce and businesses could be decimated, further exacerbating the supply chain and workforce crises.
Schmitt added, “The federal government should not be mandating vaccinations, and that’s why we filed suit today – to halt this illegal, unconstitutional action.”
In addition to the federal contractor vaccine mandate, Biden had previously ordered OSHA to enforce a vaccine mandate on employers with 100 or more employees or at least force their employees to take a weekly Covid-19 test.
Following Biden’s September announcement, a group of Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to Biden warning that they were prepared to take legal action if he didn’t rescind his vaccine mandate order, a threat they followed through with on Friday.
The group of Republican state attorneys general released a statement at the time that said, “The vaccines have helped protect millions of Americans, and there are surely others who could benefit from obtaining this treatment,” they claimed.
“But convincing those who are hesitant to do so would require you to allow room for discussion and disagreement. Instead, you have offered the American people flimsy legal arguments, contradictory statements, and threatening directives, the said.
The group went on to hypothesis that Biden’s goal was “to sow division and distrust, rather than promote unity and the public’s health.”
The federal judges must act fast because Biden’s vaccine mandate is set to take effect on Dec. 8.