Governor Reeves says former President Trump realized states were best suited to handle the pandemic response.
This week, President Joe Biden joined a call with representatives from the National Governors Association (NGA) to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 response by state and federal governments.
NGA Chairman and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) addressed the President first, offering a word of caution to not let federal solutions get in the way of state solutions.
“One word of concern or encouragement for your team is that as you look towards federal solutions that will help alleviate the challenge, make sure that we do not let federal solutions stand in the way of state solutions,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson went on to use the example of the production of 500 million rapid tests that will be distributed by the federal government, saying that was great, but noting that it dries up the supply chain for the solutions that state Governors might offer.
Following Governor Hutchinson’s remarks, President Biden responded.
“Look, there is no federal solution,” Biden said. “This gets solved at a state level. I’m looking at Governor [Chris] Sununu [NH-R] on the board here. He talks about that a lot. And then it ultimately gets down to where the rubber meets the road, and that’s where the patient is in need of help or preventing the need for help.”
But President Biden’s actions have not lived up to his words spoken to the Republican Governors.
Since taking office, President Biden has used the power of his pen to implement various public travel restrictions and health care mandates across the nation irrespective of states’ wishes, chief among them are the business, health care worker, and federal contractor vaccine mandates he announced in the Fall that a majority of states are challenging in court. Those mandates and restrictions, which come with fines and penalties for noncompliance, have added to the health care worker shortage and cost others their jobs in the private sector. The Biden Administration will be defending part of those mandates before the U.S. Supreme Court next week.
The concession by President Biden that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to solve the pandemic drew a response from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves.
Reeves was not on the NGA call but has repeatedly said that what happens in one state does not always equate to other states in the same way that one county’s response may differ from another county.
“This is what we have been saying since Day One. Donald Trump realized this and acted accordingly. Biden lied and claimed he had a plan, which never existed,” Governor Reeves tweeted. “If he wants to gain back some respect, he could have his actions follow his words and end his ridiculous federal mandates.”
This is what we have been saying since Day One. Donald Trump realized this and acted accordingly. Biden lied and claimed he had a plan, which never existed. If he wants to gain back some respect, he could have his actions follow his words and end his ridiculous federal mandates. https://t.co/PDoJkhXMq3
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) December 28, 2021
To date, Mississippi is among the states challenging all of President Biden’s COVID vaccine mandates. Governor Reeves, who referred to the vaccine mandates as “one of the most shocking attacks on personal liberty we have seen in this country in my lifetime,” has supported each of these lawsuits filed by Attorney General Lynn Fitch.
When lawmakers return to the Capitol next week for the 2022 legislative session, it is expected that bills will be filed to protect the state’s interest, along with its citizens’ livelihoods, from further federal COVID-related mandates imposed by President Biden’s Administration.
Frank Corder
