By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) announced that a federal court has granted a motion by Alabama and other conservative states for an injunction against President Joseph R. Biden's (D) federal-contractor vaccine mandate. However, the Biden administration continues to push for all Americans to be vaccinated.
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the Biden administration, Jeff Zients, said vaccines remain the best line of defense against the virus,
"So, our message is straightforward: The best thing you can do if you're concerned about Omicron is to get boosted if you were fully vaccinated before June, get your kids vaccinated, get yourself vaccinated if you haven't already, and encourage your friends and family members to do the same," said Zients.
Zients said the president plans to make it easier for parents to get their children vaccinated by launching hundreds of new [family] vaccination clinics at community health centers and other trusted locations around the country.
Marshall claimed that mandating the vaccine is an unconstitutional intrusion into Americans' personal liberties and that neither the Constitution nor Congress delegated Americans' personal health decisions to the office of the president.
"President Biden's unlawful, unconstitutional, and un-American attempt to force federal contractors and their employees to submit to a COVID-19 vaccination has been stopped due to another successful legal challenge from Alabama," said Marshall. "Today's ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia places a nationwide injunction on President Biden's federal-contractor vaccine mandate and represents the third victory by Alabama and a coalition of states to block enforcement of the President's tyrannical dictates."
Marshall said the courts rightfully responded to the case.
"President Biden's lawless and authoritarian vaccine mandate on federal contractors—just as with his vaccine mandates for private employers and healthcare workers—is a contemptible infringement upon individual liberty, federalism, and the separation of powers," said Marshall.
Marshall filed three legal challenges to Biden's vaccine mandates, including against the federal-contractor vaccine mandate on Oct. 29, against the private-employer vaccine mandate on Nov. 5, and against the healthcare-worker vaccine mandate on Nov. 15. All three mandates have now been blocked nationwide by federal courts.
Joining Alabama in the legal challenge of the federal-contractor vaccine mandate are attorneys general from Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "Joe Biden has no authority to issue unlawful shot mandates. His actions are unlawful, as is evident by the unanimous rulings of multiple federal judges. The mandates are not only unconstitutional, but they are also abusive and inhumane against the people of the United States."
In Georgia v. Biden, the states of Georgia, Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia, the governors of several of those states, and various state agencies, including the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, filed a lawsuit seeking relief against Biden's executive order. That order requires that contractors and subcontractors performing work on certain federal contracts ensure that their employees and others working in connection with the federal contracts receive all the COVID shots.
The shot mandate, which was set to take effect on Jan. 4, would apply to approximately 25% of the U.S. workforce and would affect companies that do business with the federal government, including Google, General Motors, Lockheed Martin Corp., Microsoft Corp., several airlines, and banks that administer small business loans.
U.S. District Judge Stan Baker stated in his ruling that "Congress did not clearly authorize the president to use procurement to impose a vaccine requirement on contractors that will have vast economic and political significance."
The court also acknowledged that this mandate would be "life-altering" and "imperil their financial viability."
Baker wrote, "Declining to issue a preliminary injunction would force Plaintiffs to comply with the mandate, requiring them to make decisions which would significantly alter their ability to perform federal contract work which is critical to their operations."
Federal contractors now have the option to either repeal the mandate (as UAB did on Tuesday) or continue with enforcing their own in-house mandate.
The White House is expected to appeal the ruling. The administration maintains that vaccination is the only effective means available to confront the coronavirus global pandemic.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director, said on Tuesday that COVID-19 remains a clear and present danger.
"The current seven-day average of cases is about 103,800 per day," Walensky told reporters. "And the seven-day average of hospital admissions is about 6,800 per day. The seven-day average of daily deaths is about 1,100 per day. At CDC and across the government, we continue to remain focused on our efforts to address both the Delta and the now Omicron variants."
As of press time, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 812,205 Americans, including 16,199 Alabamians.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
