On Thursday, the state of Florida sued President Biden, NASA, and other government agencies and officials over COVID vaccine mandates. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis believes the mandate contradicts Florida’s state laws and is pushing the state’s economy backward.
Florida sues Biden for mandating vaccines
Ashley Moody, Florida’s Attorney General, alongside Governor DeSantis, filed a lawsuit against the president, NASA’s administrator Bill Nelson, White House officials, and the Department of Defense.
These bodies have mandated all federal workers to get vaccinated by December 8.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court, arguing the vaccine mandate interferes with Florida employment policies and poses a significant threat to Florida’s economy.
Likewise, the newly filed lawsuit says the state can lose federal contracts, so the court should help Florida in overturning this mandate. Florida will need to vaccinate some state officials, as the state is also in contract with some entities linked to the federal government.
So, when the federal government makes vaccination a necessity for those specific entities, Florida will also need to follow suit. Currently, the Biden administration is depending on a statute that allows them to prescribe policies for the proper implementation of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA).
However, the newly filed lawsuit evinced the statute does not allow Democrats to snatch people’s autonomy, especially when they belong to a completely sovereign state.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the President's order imposing a vaccine mandate on federal contractorshttps://t.co/oXRZnIu6xO
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) October 29, 2021
The state of Florida mentioned even if the statute allows Biden to authorize the vaccine mandate, it is still in contradiction with the procurement and administrative laws of the state.
Federal organizations not ready to vaccinate people on such a short deadline
Governor DeSantis said everyone has the right to earn a living in the state of Florida; this cannot be snatched just because of their personal choice of not getting vaccinated.
While talking to Fox News, a Florida state official said the Biden administration “misread FPASA,” saying it does not allow them to enact social policy without congressional approval.
Florida argued the court should declare Biden’s executive order null and void and allow Florida an exemption from these orders.
Florida is suing the Biden Administration over its mandate on federal contractors that is unlawfully jeopardizing thousands of jobs.
No one should lose their job due to these mandates.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 28, 2021
The lawsuit is a reaction of Republicans against Biden’s executive order, which he signed in September. According to the order, the federal contractors must get vaccinated.
However, some organizations have demanded a bit of leeway regarding the deadline of December 8, saying the administration should allow workers to get vaccinated through 2022 as well.
These organizations believe the current order will only trigger a wave of resignations during the holiday season, which will ultimately make the supply chain crisis even worse.
Due to the presence of the Kennedy Space center on Merritt Island, NASA has a large presence in Florida, so it is also mentioned in the lawsuit. The White House did not comment on the Florida lawsuit until Friday, while the DOJ denied commenting.
