At least 40 Republican senators on Thursday announced they are taking action to oppose the Biden administration’s vaccination mandate affecting as many as 100 million U.S. workers.
Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Employment and Workforce Safety, will lead the Republican challenge to the new rule. The Biden administration revealed OSHA guidance this week that requires companies with more than 100 employees to become fully vaccinated, or submit weekly negative testing as a condition of employment.
“Today we are one step closer to protecting the liberties of millions of Americans in the private sector workforce under the Congressional Review Act,” Braun said in a statement released Thursday. “I urge my Senate colleagues to vote in favor of this disapproval resolution in the coming weeks.”
Notable senators backing the rule include Sens. Ted Cruz, Tim Scott, Chuck Grassley, Josh Hawley, Lindsay Graham, Rand Paul and more.
In a Senate hearing on Thursday, top-ranking Republican officials pushed back against the Biden Administration’s plan, expressing concern the heavy-handed mandate would negatively affect labor supply amid global supply-chain shortages.
Republicans also raised concerns about the CDC’s muddled messaging throughout the pandemic.
“When we’re talking about vaccine and vaccine hesitancy, we need to be talking to those who are putting in place some of these standards that in my state are causing extraordinary issue and problem within our workforce,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, according to ABC News.
Republican senators will use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to challenge the mandate. Although Senate Republicans appear unified in opposition to the mandate, the CRA would require a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Congress to overcome a presumptive Biden veto. Without Democrat support, the veto will be unsuccessful.
In addition to Senate Republicans’ efforts to overturn the mandate, more than a dozen states have begun filing legal challenges to the mandate, including governors, attorneys general, and state legislatures.