The White House announced on Tuesday that President Joe Biden would veto a Republican resolution to block a vaccine-or-test mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees if it came to his desk, according to The Hill.
Senate Republicans are poised to force a vote this week to block the Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, however, that if the resolution passes, Biden will veto it.
”We certainly hope the Senate, Congress, will stand up to the anti-vaccine and testing crowd, and we’re going to continue to work to implement these,” Psaki told reporters. ”If it comes to the president’s desk, he will veto it.
”And we’ve got a new variant, and cases are rising. President’s been clear: We’ll use every tool to protect the American people, and we hope others will join us in that effort.”
On Dec. 4, 2020, then-President-elect Biden said at a press conference in Delaware that he doesn’t believe COVID-19 vaccines should be mandatory.
”I wouldn’t demand it be mandatory,” Biden said of the vaccines, according to Reuters.
So far, Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana have said they would support the 50 Republican senators in a vote against the mandate. But even if Manchin’s and Tester’s votes would give the resolution enough support to pass in the Senate, it would still need to pass the Democratic-controlled House before appearing on Biden’s desk.
House Democrats are not expected to bring the resolution to the floor, but a discharge petition could force the vote. To force the vote via a discharge petition, winning majority support from House members would be required.
”I think our view and the view of many Americans is that if people aren’t vaccinated, having them test once a week is quite reasonable as we’re thinking about how to protect our workplaces, how to protect stores and retail locations as people are out shopping for Christmas and the holidays, how to protect our children in schools and public places,” Psaki added.
She maintained that she is confident the OSHA rule to require vaccination or weekly testing will be implemented by the White House.
According to a tweet from RNC Research, ”in July, Jen Psaki said it is ‘not the role of the federal government’ to force Americans to get vaccinated.”
