‘Stopped Cold’: Federal Judge Blocks Final Part Of Biden Vaccine Mandate

A federal judge in Georgia issued a nationwide stay on President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate Tuesday in the latest victory for the Republican effort to stop the requirement.

U.S. District Judge Stan Baker issued the ruling Tuesday afternoon, joining two other federal court decisions blocking Biden’s mandate from taking effect. The Biden administration seeks to require vaccinations for all federal employees and employees of federal contractors. (RELATED: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Block To Biden Vaccine Mandate)

“Abuse of power by the Biden administration has been stopped cold again,” Republican South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson told reporters Tuesday. Wilson joined the lawsuit against Biden’s mandate along with Georgia, Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia, according to Reuters.

A federal judge has blocked President Biden’s administration from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees of federal contractors.

It’s the latest in a string of court victories for Republican-led states and others challenging a series of federal vaccine requirements.

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 7, 2021

In a ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker, in Augusta, Georgia, issued a stay to bar enforcement of the mandate nationwide.

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 7, 2021

The first partial stay of Biden’s mandate came Nov. 29 from U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp of Missouri, who issued a temporary injunction on enforcement while the larger question of the mandate’s legality was litigated. That injunction impacted 10 states.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana expanded that injunction the following day. The pair of decisions objected to enforcement through the federal Centers for Medicare and Medical Services (CMS). CMS sought to require more than 10.3 million of its affiliated healthcare workers across the country to receive two doses of COVID-19 over the course of two months. The policy would have taken effect Nov. 5 and required healthcare workers to receive a first dose by Dec. 6 and a second dose by Jan. 4.

The decisions also blocked Biden’s effort to require businesses with more than 100 employees to enforce a vaccine mandate on their workers.

“In addressing the geographic scope of the preliminary injunction, due to the nationwide scope of the CMS Mandate, a nationwide injunction is necessary due to the need for uniformity,” said the court document issued by the U.S District Court for The Western District of Louisiana.

Baker’s decision Tuesday blocks the final piece of the Biden administration’s mandate, which related to federal contractors.

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