In a letter sent to President Biden today, 24 Republican attorneys general (AGs) are threatening legal action if the Biden Administration does not alter its course on a proposed Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) emergency temporary standard that would mandate most private sector employees to either get a COVID-19 shot, submit to weekly testing, or be fired.
“President Biden’s proposed vaccine mandate is nothing but an un-constitutional power grab. We are a nation of laws, not men, yet the Biden administration has shown that it has no limiting principles,” said RAGA Chairman South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. “We are not a country that rules by edict and if President Biden’s power grab goes unchecked, it will have dire consequences for our nation. Republican attorneys general throughout our country are joining together in this fight for the rights of States, small businesses and individual liberty. Instead of bringing people who disagree together, he has chosen to pit Americans against each other by diktat. We will not tolerate Biden’s tyrannical rule. The lines are clear, this is Joe Biden’s unlawful agenda versus the American people. We will win this fight and protect the foundational principles that make our country great.”
The Republican AGs, in making their legal argument, point to the long history of judicial skepticism of previously used OSHA emergency temporary standards. The use of this mechanism to implement a nationwide decree concerning the health of hundreds of millions of Americans would be “a sweeping intrusion on traditional state authority,” vastly expand the power of a federal agency at the expense of powers reserved for the legislative branch, and cast doubt on the constitutionality of the order entirely.
In addition to the legal arguments presented in the 24-state letter, the AGs argue, from a policy perspective, that the edict would drive individuals out of the work force, including healthcare workers, at a time when the labor market is already too tight. The letter also points to the likelihood a government edict would lead to an increased skepticism of vaccines instead of changing people’s minds, and ignores widespread natural immunity. Finally, the AGs make the case that there are other, less intrusive means to combat the spread of COVID-19 other than the proposed mandate.
Click HERE to read a copy of the letter.
The following states signed the letter to President Biden: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, West Virginia.