Following President Joe Biden’s announcement of coronavirus mandates affecting more than 100 million U.S. workers and companies, Republican governors are ”united in fighting back,” according to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.
In a tweet Friday morning, Ivey said that ”a conference call with Republican governors just wrapped up. President Biden has overreached with these new mandates, and we’re united in fighting back. I’m partnering alongside my conservative colleagues across the country in this fight. This is a fight for businesses, our hardworking men and women, and our American liberties.”
The governor said she isn’t against the vaccine being mandated by Biden — he has called for vaccination of employees at any company of 100-plus worker — but she does takes issue with mandates coming from the White House.
”I encourage Alabamians to take the vaccine — have been since the beginning, but we’re never going to mandate it. And we certainly aren’t going to allow Washington, D.C., and this president to tell Alabama what to do.
“Here in Alabama, we don’t put up with that nonsense.”
According to Reuters, the mandate, which the White House says would cover 100 million U.S. workers and applies to about two-thirds of all U.S. employees, is being written in part by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt shared his Alabama counterpart’s passion about the federal mandates. ”As long as I am governor, there will be no government vaccine mandates in Oklahoma. My administration will continue to defend Oklahoma values and fight back against the Biden administration’s federal overreach.”
When asked Friday about possible legal challenges, Biden did not seem to be overly concerned. The president told reporters, “Have at it.
“I’m so disappointed that because some of the Republican governors have been so cavalier with the health of these kids, so cavalier with the health of their communities.”
USA Today reports the governors of Arizona, Montana, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas have vowed to fight the mandate. The Patriot Depot on Friday also reported the Republican National Committee said it would file a lawsuit against the Biden administration when the requirement goes into effect.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said Thursday: “I’ve been publicly vaccinated, that was my choice. What the Biden administration is doing is government overreach, pure and simple. And people don’t want them hammering down on them to get this vaccine.”
Likewise, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he thinks it’s “fundamentally wrong” to cause individuals to lose their jobs over their choice about the vaccine, and he vowed to fight it, according to Breitbart.
DeSantis, who is also fighting efforts by schools districts in his state to mandate mask wearing, said forcing or coercing people is not the right decision. Breitbart said he emphasized the importance of early treatment, such as the monoclonal antibody treatment centers.
