Attorney General Lynn Fitch
Today, Attorney General Lynn Fitch and 23 State Attorneys General wrote President Biden in strong opposition to his announced plans to institute vaccine mandates expected to impact nearly 100 million Americans.
“Forcing Americans to be vaccinated or face job loss is the sort of heavy-handed, government-knows-best approach we have come to expect from this Administration,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “I encourage people to be vaccinated, but they need to decide for themselves when they are ready. They do not need the White House to decide for them.”
While he has not yet issued any rules implementing these mandates, President Biden announced one week ago that he would be issuing vaccine mandates that would impact about 80 million American workers at businesses employing more than 100 employees and another 17 million Americans who work in hospitals or other health care facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding. General Fitch and her colleagues made clear in the letter that they will go to court to stop unconstitutional mandates.
“The vaccines have helped protect millions of Americans, and there are surely others who could benefit from obtaining this treatment. But convincing those who are hesitant to do so would require you to allow room for discussion and disagreement. Instead, you have offered the American people flimsy legal arguments, contradictory statements, and threatening directives.…If your Administration does not alter its course, the undersigned state Attorneys General will seek every available legal option to hold you accountable and uphold the rule of law.”
The letter was sent by the Attorneys General of 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, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Sarah Ulmer
