Politics

Texas judge blocks Biden vaccine mandate for federal workers

A Texas federal judge has blocked the Biden administration’s order for federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the latest setback to the administration’s pandemic response.

The ruling by Judge Jeffrey Brown stated that the order “amounts to a presidential mandate that all federal employees consent to vaccination against COVID-19 or lose their jobs.” 

“Because the President’s authority is not that broad, the court will enjoin the second order’s enforcement,” wrote Brown, who was nominated to the federal bench by President Donald Trump. 

Brown cited the Supreme Court’s decision last week that prevented the administration from enforcing a requirement that all businesses with at least 100 employees mandate that workers get vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. 

The Supreme Court did uphold vaccine mandates on most health care workers.

Brown claimed the administration’s order for federal workers was a “bridge too far” by allowing the White House “with a stroke of a pen or without the input of Congress, [to] require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment.” 

President Biden speaks to press.
The Texas judge claimed the Biden administration’s order for federal workers was a “bridge too far.” Getty Images / Drew Angerer
Anti-vaccine rally protesters hold signs outside of Houston Methodist Hospital.
The Supreme Court recently blocked a mandate requiring businesses with more than 100 workers to order that their staffs be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. AFP / AFP via Getty Images / Mark Felix

In response to the ruling, White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed that 98 percent of federal employees are vaccinated, which she called “a remarkable number.”

“Obviously, we are confident in our legal authority here,” added Psaki, who directed further questions to the Justice Department.  

The DOJ has already appealed Friday’s ruling, sending its request to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 

The mandate, which was first announced by President Biden last September, ordered more than 3.5 million federal employees to be vaccinated or face termination — with some medical or religious exemptions.

Unlike the vaccine requirement for private businesses, federal employees were not given the option to test weekly for COVID-19 instead of receiving the vaccine. 

The initial deadline for government workers to get vaccinated was Nov. 22.