The United States Supreme Court Blocks Biden’s Vaccine Mandate

The United States Supreme Court granted the petitioners’ request to stay the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) during the pendency of the 6th Circuit case.

Holding that OSHA lacked the statutory authority to implement the ETS, the Court stated, “the Act empowers the Secretary to set workplace safety standards, not broad public health measures.” Further, the Court held:

“The question before us is not how to respond to the pandemic, but who holds the power to do so. The answer is clear: Under the law as it stands today, that power rests with the States and Congress, not OSHA. In saying this much, we do not impugn the intentions behind the agency’s mandate. Instead, we only discharge our duty to enforce the law’s demands when it comes to the question who may govern the lives of 84 million Americans.”

The majority concluded that the government was not likely to prevail on its argument that OSHA possesses the authority to issue the vaccination mandate.

America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) Constitutional Litigation Partnership (CLP) filed a lawsuit in November on behalf of two small businesses in North Dakota challenging the constitutionality of the Biden Administration’s OSHA ETS. When the 6th Circuit lifted the stay of the OSHA ETS, AFPI filed a Response in Support of Emergency Application for Writ of Stay with the United States Supreme Court.

Today’s ruling is a huge victory for the preservation of American liberty.

Read the Supreme Court’s full opinion here.

Statement from The Honorable Pam Bondi, Chair of AFPI’s CLP:

The opinion issued by the United States Supreme Court illustrates that the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate was an egregious violation of it’s statutory authority - the very argument that AFPI presented to the court. The Biden Administration abused its federal power to encroach on the lives and health of nearly 84 million hard-working Americans. The Supreme Court’s opinion preserves American liberty and underscores the importance of our Constitution’s separation of powers.

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AFPI is a non-profit, non-partisan research institute dedicated to the ad­vancement of policies that put the American People first. Its guiding principles are liberty, free enterprise, the rule of law, America-First for­eign policy, and a belief that American workers, families, and communities are the key to the success of our country.