Democratic Kansas Governor TURNS on Biden's vaccine mandate and says mandates are 'not correct or effective'
A governor of President Joe Biden's own party is standing up to his sweeping vaccine mandate, claiming it's 'too late' in the pandemic for broad federal action even as the pandemic's effects continue to roil the US economy.
Kansas Democrat Governor Laura Kelly, who is up for re-election in 2022, released a statement on Saturday announcing that her state is rejecting Biden's vaccine order for private businesses that employ more than 100 people.
'While I appreciate the intention to keep people safe, a goal I share, I don't believe this directive is correct, or the most effective, solution for Kansas,' the 71-year-old state leader said.
Kelly said states at this point in the pandemic have 'already developed systems' to fight coronavirus' effects on health and the economy, largely without the federal government's help.
'States have been leading the fight against COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic. It is too late to impose a federal standard now that we have already developed systems and strategies that are tailored for our specific needs,' Kelly explained.
'I will seek a resolution that continues to recognize the uniqueness of our state and builds on our on-going efforts to combat a once-in-a-century crisis.'
About 54 percent of Kansas residents have at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to the state health department website. Roughly 48 percent are fully vaccinated.
Democratic Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said it was 'too late' to impose a federal vaccine mandate in a statement on Saturday
Kansas' 71-year-old governor is up for re-election in 2022. Roughly 54 percent of residents there have at least one dose of the COVID vaccine
Both figures are far lower than the national average - about 67 percent of the total US population has had at least one dose and 58.2 percent are fully vaccinated.
White House officials have been leaping up to defend Biden's requirement that private employers who meet the threshold must either ensure employees are fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing, after a panel of federal judges in New Orleans suspended the directive yesterday.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told ABC that the Biden administration was prepared to defend the 'necessary' vaccine order in court.
'The president and the administration wouldn't have put these requirements in place if they didn't think that they were appropriate and necessary, and the administration is certainly prepared to defend them' Murthy told ABC's Martha Raddatz.
'When you think about the work place, in particular, it's so important that our workplaces are safe - the workers feel safe there, the customers also feel safe, and we know that at this point in the pandemic when we've come so far but we still have 75,000 cases per day, it's important that we take every measure possible to make our workplaces safer.
'It's good for people's health, it's good for the economy and that's why these requirements make so much sense.'
The US 5th District Court of Appeals blocked Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate after five states issued a joint petition against the order and 11 states filed lawsuits this week.
The court, which has jurisdiction over Texas, Louisiana and parts of Mississippi, put a halt on the mandate and gave the Biden administration until Monday to respond.
Chief of Staff Ron Klain said on Meet the Press that he's 'confident' Biden's vaccine order will prevail through legal challenges.
'I'm not sure really it has much practical effect in the short run,' Klain told Meet the Press host Chuck Todd of the court's ruling.
He pointed out that the decision has time to be re-litigated before January 4, the deadline for employers to either ensure all staff are fully vaccinated or set up weekly COVID-19 testing for those who are not.
'These vaccine requirements have been litigated up and down the courts all over the country,' Klain said. 'Every single court before this one ruled that they were valid. The Supreme Court has turned back, several times already, various efforts to enjoin other vaccine requirements.'
'I'm quite confident that when this finally gets fully adjudicated, not just a temporary order, the validity of this requirement will be upheld. It's common sense, Chuck.'
After Biden announced his sweeping vaccine order in September, White House officials said last week that the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will begin enforcing the vaccine rule for private companies and could fine employers thousands of dollars for not complying.
'I'm not sure really it has much practical effect in the short run,' Biden's chief of staff told Meet the Press on Sunday of the court's ruling
Opponents of the rule claim OSHA can't enforce a vaccine mandate and that the pandemic does not constitute the kind of health hazard the workplace safety agency can police. But Klain on Sunday disagreed.
'If OSHA can tell people to wear a hard hat on the job, to be careful around chemicals, it can put in place these simple measures to keep our workers safe,' he said.
In their federal court order on Saturday, Judges Edith Jones, Stuart Kyle Duncan and Kurt Engelhardt wrote, 'Because the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate, the Mandate is hereby STAYED pending further action by this court.' A stay is a legal term meaning that a proceeding must be halted until a later date.
The judges gave the White House until 5 p.m. on November 8 to respond, at which the petitioners would have until the following day to apply for a permanent injunction.
The US 5th District Court of Appeals issued a stay against Biden's latest vaccine mandate
US 5th District Court of Appeals Judges (L-R) Edith Jones, Kurt Engelhardt and Stuart Kyle Duncan blocked Biden's vaccine mandate in a two page order
Biden had issued a vaccine mandate for all employers with 100 or more workers to issue their own vaccine mandate by January 4
Biden's order, which requires private companies with 100 or more employees to impose vaccine mandates on their workers by January 4, was officially announced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Thursday – immediately leading to a flurry of lawsuits from Republican states and entities.
Saturday's court order came in response to a joint petition from several businesses, advocacy groups, and the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah. The rule is also facing separate legal challenges before other courts.
Several Republicans announced legal action on Thursday against Biden's vaccine mandate after details were released of the new rule affecting more than 84 million workers at private companies and federal contractors.
Among those leading the wave in standing against he mandate was Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who called the halt a victory.
'The fight is not over and I will never stop resisting this Admin’s unconstitutional overreach,' Paxton wrote on Twitter.
Along with the petition from the Texas and the other four states, Missouri, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Ohio and Tennessee have all filed lawsuits against Biden's vaccine mandate.
The Republican National Committee is also suing Biden.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that Florida would also join a lawsuit with Georgia, Alabama and private plaintiffs seeking to nullify Biden's rule.
'We've got to stand up,' the Republican Trump ally said during a press conference in Tallahassee. 'We've got to stand up for the constitutional order.'
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, was among five Republican leaders who presented the petition to halt Biden's vaccine mandate
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Florida, Georgia and Alabama will also file their own lawsuits against Biden's vaccine mandate
President Biden arrived in Delaware on Saturday when he learned about the block
The White House declined to comment on the ruling, and referred questions to the Labor Department, where spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this week, The White House said it was confident that it could beat any Republican challenges to its new workplace vaccine mandate and claimed Thursday that the GOP was trying to block the Biden administration from saving lives.
'The question that we always have is and that we ask to the Republicans is why are they getting in the way?' Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Thursday's White House press briefing.
'Why are they getting in the way of trying to protect and save lives? That's all we're trying to do,' she added.
Jean-Pierre said the White House is 'pretty confident' the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules imposing compulsory vaccines on private companies will hold up in court against a slew of GOP lawsuits currently being filed.
'The administration clearly has the authority to protect workers and actions announced by the president are designed to save lives and stop the spread of COVID,' Jean-Pierre said.
The debate over the mandate comes as infection rates in the US continue to drop.
On Friday, the nation reported less than 97,000 new daily cases and about 2,300 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
About 59 per cent of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID, and more than 78 per cent have gotten at least one jab.
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