Federal court of appeals issues temporary halt to Biden vaccine mandate
Texas sued the Biden administration over the mandate earlier this week
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A federal court issued Texas a temporary victory in its lawsuit against the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandate issuing a stay on the controversial federal government regulation in Texas.
"Yesterday, I sued the Biden Admin over its unlawful OSHA vax mandate," Texas’ Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton tweeted Saturday. "WE WON. Just this morning, citing "grave statutory and constitutional issues," the 5th Circuit stayed the mandate. The fight is not over and I will never stop resisting this Admin’s unconstitutional overreach!"
Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, U.S., on Sunday, July 11, 2021. The three-day conference is titled "America UnCanceled." Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloombe (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Earlier in the week, Paxton sued the Biden administration over the mandate and argued that the move to force workers at companies with over 100 employees to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing is "flatly unconstitutional."
"Biden’s new vaccine mandate on private businesses is a breathtaking abuse of power," Paxton tweeted Friday. "OSHA has only limited power & specific responsibilities. This latest move goes way outside those bounds. This ‘standard’ is flatly unconstitutional. I’m asking the Court to strike it down."
President Biden speaks about the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus on Nov. 3, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (Drew Angerer/Getty Images / Getty Images)
OSHA is giving employers with more than 100 employees a Jan. 4 deadline to comply with President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and threatening thousands of dollars in fines for defiant businesses, according to a fact sheet released by the White House Thursday.
The White House has stood by the mandate despite pushback from several Republican led states and argued that the move is a workplace standard rather than a mandate.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to a question at a Friday press briefing about whether or not she is confident the mandate will stand up to legal challenges.
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"We are very confident that it can," Jean-Pierre said. "As for the legal side of this, let me be crystal clear to avoid what appears to be possible misinformation or disinformation around the emergency temporary standard being a vaccine mandate. That would be on its face incorrect as has been explicit for months. It is a standard for safe workplace to either comply with weekly testing or to be vaccinated."
Paxton spoke with Fox News Digital after the decision and said that he is "really pleased."
LONGWOOD, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - 2021/08/09: A nurse gives a girl a dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Lyman High School in Longwood on the day before classes begin for the 2021-22 school year. Seminole County Public Schools (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"It’s not the end of the battle but I’m excited because it gives people hope that they aren’t going to lose their jobs and the president isn’t going to be able to ruin people’s careers and make their lives more difficult," Paxton said.
Paxton added that he believes the Biden administration will appeal the decision.
"BREAKING: The Federal Court of Appeals just issued a temporary halt to Biden’s vaccine mandate," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted. "Emergency hearings will take place soon. We will have our day in court to strike down Biden’s unconstitutional abuse of authority."
Fox News’ Michael Lee contributed to this report