Friday | November 5th, 2021

It’s Friday, November 5th, and this is your Morning Wire. Listen to the full podcast:

1) The Daily Wire Sues Biden Administration 

The Topline: On Thursday, the federal government unveiled a much anticipated and controversial OSHA rule requiring large companies to enforce Covid-19 vaccinations for employees. Almost immediately, companies, including The Daily Wire, shot back with legal challenges. 

Quote Of The Day: “We’ve made it very clear that we will not comply with this mandate. So you could say we’re pretty confident.”

– The Daily Wire’s in-house counsel Josh Herr

MANDEL NGAN / AFP / Contributor via Getty Images

The OSHA Rule

The Daily Wire’s in-house counsel, Josh Herr, told Morning Wire the order is essentially a vaccination mandate for private businesses with more than 100 employees. It goes into effect January 4th. 

The order forces companies to verify employees are vaccinated. If they refuse, they either have to be tested weekly and wear a mask at all times, or be fired. 

Penalties: If a company fails to enforce this vaccine order, it is subject to fines of $13,653 per occurrence. But if OSHA deems a business to be an “egregious” or repeat violator, it can fine a company $136,000 for each employee who does not comply — repeatedly.

The Daily Wire Lawsuit

The Daily Wire is filing a motion to stay enforcement of OSHA’s rule with the 6th Circuit.

It argues the federal government has no power under the Constitution to force half the U.S. private sector workforce to be vaccinated against their will or to endure repeated medical testing as a condition of earning a living. 

It also argues that even if the federal government did have this power, Congress never delegated the power to OSHA, meaning this type of rule would be in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, making it unconstitutional. 

The mandate also exposes businesses to liability to their employees by forcing the company to require employees to divulge personal health information and potentially identify their religious affiliation.

Samuel Corum/Bloomberg/Contributor via Getty Images

2) Supreme Court Takes On New York Gun Law

The Topline: The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on New York State’s Concealed Weapons Law.

Quote Of The Day: “I think it’s very, very likely that you have…probably six, possibly seven justices who…strike down New York’s law…essentially affirm that there is, in fact, an individual, right to bear arms in public.”

– Amy Swearer, Legal Fellow for the Heritage Foundation

The Case

The petitioners are two New York residents with extensive experience in training with firearms. They applied for concealed carry permits in New York and were denied carry permits because licensing officials determined they did not face any sort of special or unique danger to their lives.

New York 

New York has a “may issue” framework for issuing a concealed carry permit, meaning it’s up to the discretion of the licensing official. They may issue at their discretion the permit to whomever they want or whomever they don’t want, for whatever reasons.

The High Court

Amy Swearer, Legal Fellow for the Heritage Foundation, told Morning Wire that New York is facing an uphill legal battle and it is likely some of the justices will strike down the state’s law.

This is the first significant second amendment case the court has taken up in over a decade, as well as the first time they have seriously confronted this issue of whether or not there is an individual right to bear arms in public for self-defense. 

Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg/Contributor via Getty Images

3) Australia Partially Reopens Border 

The Topline: After imposing strict travel bans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian officials announced they would finally be allowing citizens, permanent residents, and some tourists to enter the country under specific conditions.

Quote Of The Day: “I’m an Australian citizen and I haven’t been able to go back into my own country and I’ve been able to travel to every other country except Australia. And I haven’t seen my dad in 2 years and now he’s very, very sick.”

Australia Lockdowns

Australia’s COVID strategy was incredibly strict, including closing the border for almost 600 days. 

From Monday onwards, fully vaccinated Australians and their families can return without quarantine to New South Wales and Victoria, and Australian citizens and permanent residents can now leave the country without an exemption.

The strict lockdown policy meant vast numbers of family separations.

Australia’s goal was to achieve “zero COVID,” which meant imposing drastically strict lockdown measures to try and keep the number of COVID cases and deaths as close to zero as possible. The effort sparked a worldwide debate over the balance between general health and the protection of basic freedoms. 

USA

The travel ban on visitors to the U.S. — put in place by Donald Trump and extended by President Joe Biden — is being lifted this month, but for vaccinated travelers only. The restrictions are also going to be removed on a country-by-country basis.

Nes via Getty Images

Other Stories We’re Tracking

Steele Dossier

On Thursday, federal agents arrested Igor Danchenko, a Russian national residing in Virginia, believed to be the primary sub-source associated with the anti-Trump, Steele dossier at the center of the Russia-collusion investigation. Special Prosecutor John Durham is charging Danchenko with five counts of making false statements to the FBI.