Supreme Court appears poised to block Biden’s vaccine and testing rules for
But in a separate challenge, some justices seemed more open to a vaccine mandate aimed at certain health care workers.
The three liberal justices on the court expressed clear approval for the administration’s rules in both areas.
Two of the lawyers representing states challenging the rules were not present due to Covid protocols. Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers, who is vaccinated, contracted Covid after Christmas, and has fully recovered, the state’s office said. However, the PCR test required to enter the courtroom detected the virus.
Skeptical of federal rules
Two sets of rules, issued in November, were the subject of Friday’s cases. The first would impact some 80 million individuals and requires large employers to mandate that their employees either get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett, suggested that the Biden administration’s rule, issued under an agency’s emergency powers, was too broad.
Barrett asked whether a “more targeted” regulation aimed at industries with a higher risk of transmission, would be more likely to pass legal muster.
Along the same lines, Thomas suggested that younger, unvaccinated workers might have fewer health risks and should not be subject to the same rules as older workers. He also said that states could be better suited than the federal government to require vaccines or testing under their police powers.
Two of President Donald Trump’s nominees, Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, questioned whether a federal agency could issue a regulation with such vast economic and political significance without the clear authorization of Congress. Chief Justice John Roberts seemed to agree on that point by wondering if the government had responded on an “agency by agency” basis, in order to get around the fact that Congress and some states had failed to act.
The second case concerned a regulation that requires certain health care employees who work for facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid programs to obtain vaccinations.
In that dispute, more justices seemed receptive to the Biden administration’s authority.
During both arguments, the liberal justices expressed repeated support for the Biden administration’s authority to…
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