Republican lawmakers are taking a strong stance against Joe Biden’s attempts to enforce vaccine mandates on the federal level, with 49 members of Congress pledging to vote to defund the enforcement of vaccine mandates.
According to a new report from OANN, this coalition of GOP lawmakers includes Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.
The Biden administration announced last year that they would be implementing three nationwide federal vaccine mandates for the coronavirus. In January 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) struck down one of Biden’s mandates, which would have required private businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate the Covid shot for workers. Additionally, this mandate would have been enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
However, the administration’s vaccine mandates for federal and healthcare workers still stand.
The 49 GOP lawmakers who have pledged to defund the enforcement of vaccine mandates are also arguing that government funding for it ends on Feb. 18. They are working to ensure that the funding is not extended, according to OANN.
Further, thousands of members of the U.S. military have lost their jobs over refusing to take the Covid vaccine. This week, the Daily Wire reported that the U.S. Army issued a statement that said, “Unvaccinated Soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for Soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on exemption.”
Healthcare workers in America have also been targeted by Biden’s vaccine mandates. For example, Fox Business reported that there were 33,000 firings of unvaccinated healthcare workers in New York state in October 2021, causing a massive staffing problem for hospitals everywhere in the state. And, thanks to SCOTUS’ ruling that vaccine mandates may be implemented in federally funded healthcare settings, it’s likely that many more healthcare workers across America will lose their jobs if they refuse to comply with the medical mandate.
Rep. Boebert on Tuesday tweeted, “Whatever trust Americans still had in the three letter agencies died with COVID.” Many Americans doubtlessly agree with Boebert on this and are eager to see the GOP vote to defund vaccine enforcement in Congress as soon as possible.