Federal Judge Issues Nationwide Ban on Biden's COVID Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers

A federal judge on Tuesday issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers.

Employees working in hospitals that receive federal funding were given a deadline of Dec. 6 to get at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Fox News reports that Judge Terry A. Doughty in the U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana ruled that Biden's mandate is unconstitutional. 

"If the executive branch is allowed to usurp the power of the legislative branch to make laws, two of the three powers conferred by our Constitution would be in the same hands," Doughty wrote. "If human nature and history teach anything, it is that civil liberties face grave risks when governments proclaim indefinite states of emergency."

He added, "During a pandemic such as this one, it is even more important to safeguard the separation of powers set forth in our Constitution to avoid erosion of our liberties."

The health care vaccine mandate was issued on Nov. 4 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 

Republican Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry commended Doughty's order.

"I applaud Judge Doughty for recognizing that Louisiana is likely to succeed on the merits and for delivering yet another victory for the medical freedom of Americans," Landry said in a statement. "While Joe Biden villainizes our health care heroes with his 'jab or job' edicts, I will continue to stand up to the President's bully tactics and fight for liberty."

Doughty's ruling comes just one day after U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp of Missouri issued a 32-page order blocking the Biden administration from enforcing the mandate on health care workers in 10 states.

The states listed in that order include Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

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