Kansas Democrat Governor Laura Kelly came out against Democrat President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate on Friday, saying that she does not believe it’s the best solution and that it’s too late to implement it.
“Yesterday, I reviewed the new vaccine mandate from the Biden Administration,” she said. “While I appreciate the intention to keep people safe, a goal I share, I don’t believe this directive is the correct, or the most effective, solution for Kansas.”
“States have been leading the fight against COVID-19 from the start of the pandemic,” she continued. “It is too late to impose a federal standard now that we have already developed systems and strategies that are tailored for our specific needs. I will seek a resolution that continues to recognize the uniqueness of our state and builds on our on-going efforts to combat a once-in-a-century crisis.”
Kelly’s statement comes after the Biden administration announced this week that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would require businesses with 100 or more employees to get their employees vaccinated or test for the coronavirus on a weekly basis.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a stay on Saturday temporarily halting the vaccine mandate, writing in a ruling:
Before the court is the petitioners’ emergency motion to stay enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s November 5, 2021 Emergency Temporary Standard (the “Mandate”) pending expedited judicial review.
Because the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate, the Mandate is hereby STAYED pending further action by this court.
Immediately following the release of the OSHA rule, The Daily Wire was the first major company to file a lawsuit against the Biden administration, as the company noted in a report on Thursday:
The lawsuit does not take a position on whether someone should receive the vaccine or not, only against Biden’s mandate, announced earlier this year and unveiled on Thursday morning. The mandate applies to all companies with 100 or more employees and forces those businesses to police the vaccine status of their employees. The Daily Wire, with over 100 employees, falls under the mandate.
The Daily Wire’s lawsuit seeks to overturn Biden’s executive action, arguing that the order is unconstitutional and that the Biden administration violated federal law in drafting it.
Jeremy Boreing, co-founder and co-CEO of The Daily Wire, explained the company’s decision, saying, “We’re not the enforcement arm of the federal government.”
“Forcing Americans to choose between their livelihoods and their freedom is a grotesque abuse of power and we won’t be a party to it,” Boreing added. “We will not incur the cost of implementing this testing regime. We will not incur the liability of inserting ourselves into the private health decisions and information of our employees. Our company was founded to stand against tyranny, and we will.”
Related: Top House, Senate Republicans Move To Kill Biden’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Vaccine Mandate
This report has been updated to include additional information.