The Senate prepares to vote this week on a resolution that would ban President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for private companies, an action likely to pass with West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s support.
Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun led GOP senators with a challenge last month under the Congressional Review Act that would allow Congress to disapprove of the mandate.
Manchin offered his support to Braun’s proposal in a statement last week regarding his vote that supported a vote to prevent a government shutdown.
“In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and as the new Omicron variant emerges, I will not vote to shut down the government for purely political reasons. There is too much at stake for the American people,” Manchin said in a statement on Thursday.
“But let me be clear, I do not support any government vaccine mandate on private businesses. That’s why I have cosponsored and will strongly support a bill to overturn the federal government vaccine mandate for private businesses. I have long said we should incentivize, not penalize, private employers whose responsibility it is to protect their employees from COVID-19. I have personally had both vaccine doses and a booster shot and I continue to urge every West Virginian to get vaccinated themselves.” he added.
Tonight I voted to prevent a government shutdown and fund the federal government through February 18th, 2022 through a continuing resolution. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/UBicLvMpeq
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) December 3, 2021
In November, Braun declared the mandate to force private businesses with 100 or more workers to enforce COVID-19 vaccination by January 4, 2022, was an “unconstitutional invasion.”
“President Biden’s vaccine mandate is an unconstitutional invasion of what should be a personal medical decision for every American and an affront to the rights of 80 million American workers,” Braun said in a statement to Fox News.
“Today, my Republican colleagues and I will formally challenge this federal overreach, and I urge the Senate to vote in favor of this disapproval resolution when it comes to the Floor for a filibuster-proof, simple-majority vote in early December,” he added.
The resolution only requires a simple majority to pass in the 50-50 Senate. A similar resolution led by Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Fred Keller has been joined by 206 sponsors.
“The last thing businesses need right now is an unconstitutional vaccine mandate that drives a wedge between workers and job creators. I commend Senator Machin for his leadership on this issue and urge more of my Democratic colleagues in both chambers to stand with us and the American people against this blatant government overreach,” Keller said in a statement last week.
The vaccine mandate could impact up to 84 million American workers, according to the report.
Manchin may not be the only Democratic senator to vote to ban the vaccine mandate. Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has not yet announced whether she will vote in favor of the measure.
“I am always prepared to vote and to vote for what’s right for the interests of Arizona,” Sinema said during a CNN interview on Thursday.
“When you negotiate directly in good faith with your colleagues and don’t negotiate publicly, you’re actually much more likely to find that agreement and get to an achievement that serves the interests of the people of your community, and that’s what I’ll continue to do as we negotiate the Build Back Better plan,” the senator added.
On November 4, The Daily Wire sued the federal government over the OSHA mandate for private businesses. The Daily Wire also launched a petition for signees to express support for its lawsuit against the mandate.
“The Daily Wire will not comply with President Biden’s tyrannical vaccine mandate, and we are suing the Biden Administration to put a stop to their gross overreach,” Daily Wire co-founder and co-CEO Jeremy Boreing said in a statement. “President Biden, the federal government, social media, and the establishment media have conspired to rob Americans of their freedoms in the name of public health. They have broken faith with the American people through conflicting messaging, false information, and by suppressing data and perspectives with which they disagree.”