Arizona is the primary state to sue President Biden and his administration over the sweeping coronavirus vaccine mandates for federal workers and staff within the personal sector introduced final week.
In asserting the lawsuit, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich accused Biden of overreaching, saying “Under our Constitution, the President will not be a king who can train this type of unbridled energy unilaterally. And even George III wouldn’t have dreamed that he may enact such sweeping insurance policies by royal decree alone.
“The federal government cannot force people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Biden Administration is once again flouting our laws and precedents to push their radical agenda,” he added.
Last week, Biden introduced a six-step plan to fight the continued coronavirus pandemic, which can enable the Labor Department to drive companies with 100 staff to require workers to get vaccinated or be examined weekly. Federal staff gained’t have a testing choice and should consent to injections with few exceptions. The order comes with fines of as much as $14,000 per violation.
“This is not about freedom, or personal choice,” Biden stated. “It’s about protecting yourself and those around you — the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love… We cannot allow these actions to stand in the way of protecting the large majority of Americans who have done their part, who want to get back to life as normal.”
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich argues the Biden administration can’t implement vaccine mandates “under our Constitution.”
AP Photo/Bob Christie, File
Republican lawmakers and state leaders instantly slammed the order, with a number of governors threatening to take authorized motion. So far, solely Arizona has adopted via on that risk. Texas, South Dakota, and Georgia have acknowledged they’ll sue the administration. Shortly after Biden’s order, the Republican National Committee additionally stated it might file a lawsuit.
It is unclear how far the potential lawsuits can go, as Biden warned that if Republican governors “won’t help us beat the pandemic, I’ll use my powers as president to get them out of the way.”
As properly as pushing towards the overarching labor mandate, the Arizona go well with takes difficulty with the shortage of mandates for people crossing the border, after the US noticed historic numbers of border crossings this summer season.
“There can be no serious or scientific discussion about containing the spread of COVID-19 that doesn’t begin at our southern border,” Brnovich stated.
The go well with argues that the mandate violates the Equal Protection Clause as the federal government is favoring migrants which have crossed the border over US residents.
“In a nutshell: unauthorized aliens will not be subject to any vaccination requirements even when released directly into the United States (where most will remain), while roughly a hundred million US citizens will be subject to unprecedented vaccination requirements. This reflects an unmistakable—and unconstitutional—brand of favoritism in favor of unauthorized aliens,” the lawsuit, first obtained by Fox News, reads.
President Joe Biden has not introduced any vaccine mandates for migrants crossing the US-Mexico border.AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Arizona additionally claims the administration’s actions are “constitutionally suspect,” citing a retweet by White House chief of workers Ron Klein, who retweeted a submit that stated the order was the “ultimate work-around” a nationwide federal vaccine mandate.
The state’s Attorney General’s workplace is asking the District Court of Arizona to declare the vaccine mandate and testing insurance policies unconstitutional.
