U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker, in Augusta, Ga., issued a nationwide preliminary injunction Dec. 7 against the mandate.
“The court acknowledges the tragic toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought throughout the nation and the globe,” Mr. Baker wrote. “However, even in times of crisis this court must preserve the rule of law and ensure that all branches of government act within the bounds of their constitutionally granted authorities.”
Mr. Baker also wrote that plaintiffs — which include Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia, as well as national trade group Associated Builders and Contractors — will likely succeed in their claim that the federal government exceeded the authorization granted by Congress through the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act.
The injunction effectively expanded a separate order issued Nov. 30 by a federal court in Kentucky that temporarily halted the vaccine rules for federal contractors in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. The mandate requires employees of contractors performing work on certain federal contracts to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, allowing limited exemptions.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration would continue to defend the mandate and is “confident in our ability, legally, to make these happen across the country,” according to Politico.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and CMS have also been ordered by a federal court not to enforce their vaccination requirements for private employers and healthcare workers.
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