Court blocks vaccine mandate for federal contractors in 3 states, in latest blow to Biden administration
CNN
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Covid-19 vaccine requirement for federal contractors in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee -- the third time in recent weeks that President Joe Biden's federal mandate has been blocked in some capacity in certain parts of the country.
"The question presented here is narrow. Can the president use congressionally delegated authority to manage the federal procurement of goods and services to impose vaccines on the employees of federal contractors and subcontractors?" US District Judge Gregory Frederick Van Tatenhove, a President George W. Bush appointee, in Kentucky said in the 29-page opinion. "In all likelihood, the answer to that question is no."
The judge said the President had exceeded his authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act in issuing the requirement. "While the statute grants to the president great discretion, it strains credulity that Congress intended the FPASA, a procurement statute, to be the basis for promulgating a public health measure such as mandatory vaccination," the judge said.
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