The Trump-linked America First Policy Institute is the latest group to sue the Biden administration over its effort to impose a workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
AFPI’s Constitutional Litigation Partnership, which worked with former President Donald Trump on his “Big Tech” lawsuit, and the Alliance for Free Citizens on Tuesday asked the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals for an injunction against President Joe Biden’s new Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule. That rule, which would require all businesses with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccines or require weekly testing for workers, was temporarily blocked by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday.
WHITE HOUSE TAKES BACKSEAT TO JUSTICE, LABOR IN FIGHT OVER VACCINE MANDATES
The pair are representing DTN Staffing and Miller Insulation, two North Dakota small businesses, on the grounds that the OSHA rule is “infringing on individual liberty and Americans’ right to make personal health decisions without the risk of losing their job and their ability to put food on the table for their family.”
Pam Bondi, the chairwoman of AFPI’s legal arm, claimed in a statement that the group is “dedicated to ensuring Americans’ rights are not infringed and the principles of our Constitution are upheld.”
“This case challenges the unconstitutional and statutory issues with the OSHA guidance that is affecting more than 80 million Americans,” she said. “The Biden Administration’s egregious and overreaching OSHA guidance is not only unconstitutional, but it also threatens the livelihood of hardworking Americans and private businesses across our Nation.”
Kris Kobach, general counsel for the Alliance for Free Citizens, called the case “crucial in the defense of our Constitution against an overreaching administration in Washington, D.C.”
“Our country’s Founders created a federal government that was supposed to be one of enumerated and limited powers. If they were alive to see it, they would be appalled at what OSHA is attempting to do under the guise of regulating interstate commerce,” he said in a statement.
AFPI’s suit follows a string of lawsuits raised by Republican-affiliated groups and politicians across the country after the rule’s initial implementation.
On Monday, White House officials suggested to the
Washington Examiner that Biden expected the rule to face legal challenges and that the administration would leave the full implementation fight to the Department of Labor and Department of Justice.
Principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who has been conducting the daily White House press briefings while press secretary Jen Psaki recovers from COVID, has maintained that businesses should still “move forward” with setting up testing procedures and vaccine mandates for workers, despite the temporary stay on the OSHA rule.
“These are policies that are protecting workforces and avoiding disruptions related to employees getting sick with COVID,” she told reporters during Tuesday’s briefing.
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