WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate from taking effect.
The mandate was set to be put in place on Sunday, Nov. 7, but as attorneys general from 19 states sued to block the mandate and a judge issued a temporary halt of the mandate on Saturday, Nov. 6.
Indiana is not among the 19 states in on the aforementioned lawsuit, but Indiana AG Todd Rokita has also joined lawsuits with Mississippi and Louisiana over the mandate. While a ruling over the mandate is awaited, Hoosier lawmakers in Congress are continuing to state their cases for either supporting the mandate or opposing it.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) is planning to use the Congressional Review Act to push for a vote to kill the mandate.
“That’s the only tool you have,” Braun said to All Indiana Politics. “As long as it’s initiated by one senator and one member of the House, it forced a privileged vote to bring it to the floor where you’ve got to vote either to uphold the rule or to cancel it.”
Braun notes that the vaccine mandate is a “ruling”, not an executive order, made by the Biden Administration through OSHA which makes it subject to the Congressional Review Act. Braun’s effort would only be necessary if the Federal Appeals Court, which temporarily blocked the mandate, allows the mandate to go into effect.
Indiana’s Democratic congressman, Andre Carson, is backing the White House’s push to mandate vaccines.
“COVID has wreaked havoc on our economy,” he said. “I think we’ve seen a dip, we are now on the incline, but we have to do much more. And with so much contention I think Biden has to show some type of leadership because people are suffering.”
The Biden Administration has until Monday evening to respond to the Appeals Court’s decision to block the mandate. The petition filed by the 19 states suing over the mandate says the mandate is unconstitutional.
