GOP attorneys general warn Biden of potential legal action over vaccine mandate
Two dozen of the US' Republican attorneys general are threatening legal action against the federal government over a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for private businesses.
In a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday, the attorneys general said they would seek legal action if the White House's proposal to require vaccines for 100 million Americans is implemented.
This comes a week after Biden announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will create a rule that will require nearly 80 million workers nationwide to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.
The proposed measure would require vaccination for private-sector employees, health care workers and federal contractors.
The requirement, which is being enacted through a rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is part of an effort to inoculate Americans from the more deadly delta variant.
"Your plan is disastrous and counterproductive," the prosecutors, led by Attorney General Alan Wilson of South Carolina, wrote in their letter.
"If your Administration does not alter its course, the undersigned state Attorneys General will seek every available legal option to hold you accountable and uphold the rule of law."
The letter was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Earlier this week, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy defended the administration’s vaccine plan in an interview with "This Week".
"The requirements that he announced are not sweeping requirements for the entire nation," Murthy said. "These are focused on areas where the federal government has legal authority to act."
However, Republican leaders and some union chiefs have argued that Biden was going too far in attempting to muscle private companies and workers.
Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina said on Twitter his state would fight to "the gates of hell to protect the liberty and livelihood of every South Carolinian."
There is an average of 151,500 new cases per day in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Also, an average of 1,500 people are dying from Covid every day in the country, Hopkins data shows.
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