In the News
Nearly 50 Republicans File Amicus Brief Opposing Vaccine Mandates For Federal Workers
Washington,
February 9, 2022
Daily Caller Henry Rodgers February 9, 2022 A group of 45 Republicans from both the House and Senate filed an amicus brief Wednesday opposing the vaccine mandates for federal workers. The Daily Caller obtained a copy of the brief the First Liberty Institue filed on behalf of the 45 lawmakers in the Fifth Circuit and spoke to some of the lawmakers who filed the brief. The case is named Feds for Medical Freedom v. Biden and challenges the mandate for federal workers. After federal District Judge Jeff Brown issued an injunction to block the mandate, the administration appealed to the Fifth Circuit for an emergency stay of the injunction. “It is instead about whether the president can, with the stroke of a pen and without the input of Congress, require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment. That, under the current state of the law as just recently expressed by the Supreme Court, is a bridge too far,” Brown wrote in an injunction in late January. In the brief, filed on behalf of the 45 lawmakers, it states that the vaccine mandates threaten religious freedom and more. “Executive lawmaking threatens many freedoms, including religious liberty. One need not search the distant past to discern that truth. Over just the past two years, at all levels of government, America has witnessed a flurry of novel executive actions that infringed religious freedom,” the brief states. “As the Supreme Court has held, these mandates are ‘no everyday exercise of federal power,’ as they reach well beyond any arguable workplace hazard and into all ‘daily life.’ And no less than worship restrictions, these mandates — including the ones at issue in this case — pose a crisis of conscience for many religious Americans,” the brief continues. “The American people have had enough of Biden’s unconstitutional mandates that trample on our rights. Today, we’re sending a clear message to everyone suffering under Biden – from our military service members, to federal employees, to nurses and hospital staff: the days of these tyrannical mandates are numbered,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told the Daily Caller after the brief was filed. Texas Rep. Chip Roy told the Daily Caller that Biden is defying science and Americans’ natural rights. “Biden’s federal COVID vaccine mandates are tyrannical, unconstitutional and have no place in America. They are nothing but a failing political push from a failed President in brazen defiance of science, fact, and our natural rights,” Roy said. “Therefore I am honored to join my friends, Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Mike Johnson, and the patriots at the First Liberty Institute in filing this amicus curiae brief in the Fifth Circuit to support the legal fight to Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for federal workers and contractors. Meanwhile, the American people are rightfully fed up with this; while the courts continue to work through this legal challenge, Congress should vote against any funding for these mandates,” Roy added. Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson, who also was a part of the brief, also told the Daily Caller that vaccine mandates are unconstitutional and urged the court to defend the first amendment rights. “The Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors is unconstitutional and risks discouraging qualified persons from partnering with our federal government,” Johnson told the Caller. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Republicans Introduce Bill To Prohibit Federal Vaccine Mandates) “Every time President Biden’s unconstitutional mandates are scrutinized by the courts, they fail. We urge the Court to defend the First Amendment rights of federal government contractors in this case as well. To the health care workers, first responders, servicemembers, contractors and every hardworking American affected by President Biden’s unconstitutional policies: We won’t stop fighting for you,” Johnson added. Republicans have been fighting back against the vaccine mandates in both the House and Senate. Bills have been introduced that would prohibit federal agencies from implementing vaccine mandates, that would prohibit agencies or any entities that received COVID-19 relief funding from issuing vaccine mandates and more. |