A U.S. federal appeals court issued a stay on Saturday temporarily halting Democrat President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate that would have required companies with at least 100 employees to get vaccinated for the coronavirus or be tested weekly.
The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stated the following:
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.”
Some state officials have also vowed to take action against the OSHA mandate.
“Yesterday, I sued the Biden Admin over its unlawful OSHA vax mandate,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “WE WON. Just this morning, citing ‘grave statutory and constitutional issues,’ the 5th Circuit stayed the mandate. The fight is not over and I will never stop resisting this Admin’s unconstitutional overreach!”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that emergency hearings would soon take place, and that “we will have our day in court to strike down Biden’s unconstitutional abuse of authority.”
Yesterday, I sued the Biden Admin over its unlawful OSHA vax mandate.
WE WON. Just this morning, citing “grave statutory and constitutional issues,” the 5th Circuit stayed the mandate. The fight is not over and I will never stop resisting this Admin’s unconstitutional overreach! pic.twitter.com/okt2vkNRKo
— Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) November 6, 2021
“In a major win for the liberty of job creators and their employees, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit just halted the Biden Administration’s attempt to force vaccines on businesses with 100 or more workers,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry wrote on Twitter. “The Court’s action not only halts Biden from moving forward with his unlawful overreach, but also commands the judicious review we sought. @POTUS will not impose medical procedures on the American people without the checks and balances afforded by our Constitution.”
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey wrote, “We’re diving deeper into how this impacts the entire country, but this is obviously very good news & consistent with our belief that Biden’s vaccine mandates are unlawful, unconstitutional & just wrong!”
This article has been expanded after publication to include additional information.