Forty Senate Republicans led by Indiana Sen. Mike Braun are moving to formally disapprove and nullify President Biden’s vaccine mandate on private employees using the Congressional Review Act (CRA), Fox News reports.
Braun, the ranking member of a Senate committee on employment and workforce safety, will challenge Biden’s new order via the official process for Congress to eliminate an executive branch rule. It requires large private-sector employers with more than 100 employees to mandate Covid-19 jab or get tested weekly as a condition of employment.
The new rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is expected this week and will affect as many as 80 million workers, envisaging stiff fines for those who don’t comply.
The Republicans’ effort must be passed by the Senate and the House and be signed into law by the president, but it’s expected to fall short because Democrats control 50 Senate seats.
They would have to push hard to muster a two-thirds vote in each chamber to override the veto and stop the rule from taking effect if Biden vetoes it since both are currently under the Democrats’ control.
Yet, it could be a tough vote for vulnerable incumbents up for reelection in 2022.
In a time when workplace jab mandates have become controversial topic around the US, Senate Republicans are framing the battle against it as a debate over civil liberties, arguing the decision to vaccinate is an individual choice and should not be mandated by the federal government.
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan pointed that the federal government has neither the constitutional or statutory authority to take this action so they’ll exercise the congressional authority to overturn this rule.
A GOP aide stressed that there is no Republican opposition to the disapproval and that the remaining nine Republican senators are awaiting the formal filing of the OSHA rule to join the initiative.
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