Judge blocks Biden vaccine mandate for federal workers
Finding Biden overstepped his authority, a federal judge noted the government has provided no examples of a previous president invoking his power conferred by the Constitution to impose medical procedures on civilian federal employees.
GALVESTON, Texas (CN) — A Trump-appointed federal judge issued a nationwide injunction Friday blocking the requirement for federal employees to get inoculated against Covid-19.
Feds for Medical Freedom, a Nevada nonprofit comprised of thousands of employees of federal agencies, formed to oppose the Biden administration’s Covid-19 vaccine mandates, and dozens of its members sued President Joe Biden, all members of his Cabinet and other federal officials on Dec. 21 in Galveston federal court.
The lawsuit took aim at the White House’s directives for federal agencies to require Covid vaccines of all their employees and for federal contractors to do the same with their workforces or face losing their contracts with the government.
“I have determined that ensuring the health and safety of the federal workforce and the efficiency of the civil service requires immediate action to protect the federal workforce and individuals interacting with the federal workforce,” Biden said in a Sept. 9 statement unveiling the directive.
With the federal contractor mandate already blocked by a nationwide injunction, Feds for Medical Freedom’s attorney Trent McCotter of the Washington firm Boyden Gray & Associates acknowledged in a Jan. 13 preliminary injunction hearing he does believe Biden has the power to force members of the military to get the jab under Article II of the Constitution, but argued that authority doesn't extend to civilians.
“I don’t think there’s any inherent Article II power over civil employees being vaccinated," McCotter said. "And I don’t think there’s any statutory provision that has actually given the executive this power. … Maybe it’s a separate question whether Congress could do so. I just don’t believe they have done so.”
Justice Department attorney James Gillingham disputed that claim. He said Article II gives a president authority to oversee the federal workforce, and said Congress recognized that authority with passage of Section 7301 of the U.S. Code, which states, “The president may prescribe regulations for the conduct of employees in the executive branch.”
No comments:
Post a Comment