Senator Joe Manchin recently stated that he would vote with all 50 GOP members in Senate for a resolution to disapprove the OSHA vaccine mandate. The Congressional Review Act allows a majority of Congress to disapprove any agency rule. The Senate only needs a simple majority to pass the CRA vote, which is in the form of a resolution.
The CRA still needs to be approved by the House, where many Dems have indicated that they are considering voting for it. Even if the bill is passed by both chambers of Congress, Biden will almost certainly veto it.
Manchin states that he does not support any mandate for government vaccinations on private companies and that he will support legislation to repeal the federal vaccine mandate for private companies. He said that they have always believed that we should encourage, not penalize private employers, whose responsibility is to protect their employees against COVID-19.
Manchin was able to remove the mandate after Senate Republicans managed to get Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, to allow a separate vote on an amendment to defund OSHA’s mandate.
Manchin voted against it knowing that the CRA vote was next week.
Manchin stated that he was against the amendment as it would have led to a government shutdown if it were added to the funding bill. Congress had until the end of the week to pass the temporary measure that funds the government up through February, and it was approved by the House. He said that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, he will not vote for the government to be shut down for political reasons. He stated that there was too much at stake for American citizens.
Mike Braun, an Indiana senator, is leading the effort to abolish the OSHA mandate and stated that President Biden’s unconstitutional mandate for vaccines is not a political issue. He said it jeopardizes freedoms and livelihoods in all 50 US states. He said he hopes more Dem Senators or Reps will follow Senator Manchin’s strong lead to oppose this federal overreach which will wreak havoc upon our recovering economy. He said it will also violate the rights of millions.
Biden is already being hammered in federal court, as the mandate is repeatedly declared unconstitutional. It would be smart to allow the Congressional Review to stand.
Joe Biden has never been accused of being the brightest bulb in the room, and it’s unlikely that he will.
