The Supreme Courts Vax Agenda. What Their Rulings Mean to the American Public

Editorial Staff - January 14, 2022

The Biden administration suffers a stunning defeat in its Vax Mandate in a 6-3 decision by theSupreme Court.

In two sepearate rulings this week regarding vaccine mandates the highest court in the land has decided in a 6-3 vote the justices blocked the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s sweeping mandate covering some 84 million employees of large employers.

In an unsigned opinion, the Court said OSHA exceeded its statutory authority. And it has never adopted a “broad public health regulation of this kind—addressing a threat that is untethered, in any causal sense, from the workplace.” The mandate is no “‘everyday exercise of federal power,’” it adds, citing Sixth Circuit Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton. “It is instead a significant encroachment into the lives—and health—of a vast number of employees” (WSJ).

From another story: A concurrence, written by Justice Gorsuch (and joined by Justices Thomas and Alito), articulated that the Constitution clearly gives the power to Congress, not OSHA, on how to respond to a pandemic — and that the fact that the nation is in the midst of an emergency should have no influence on their decision. Gorsuch wrote that, were justices to adhere to properly applying the law “only in more tranquil conditions, declarations of emergencies would never end and the liberties our Constitution’s separation of powers seeks to preserve would amount to little” (National Review). From Dr. Albert Mohler: This is a vindication of our cause from the very beginning. The issue here is not the vaccine, but the attempt by the Biden administration to turn employers, including religious employers, into extensions of the administrative state. It was vital that the Supreme Court preclude a federal agency such as OSHA from coercing religious employers into violating their conscience and that of employees who may be divided over the question of vaccines on convictional grounds.

It is stated that this case is a victory for the United States Constitution, for the rule of law, and for religious liberty, and for that I am very thankful (SBTS).

From Ben Shapiro who stated on Twitter: I am not going to be shy about the fact that we at Daily Wire stood up for our employees — and everybody’s employees. And we are proud of that fact. We put time and money into challenging the vaxx mandate. And we couldn’t have done that without your help.

The court did however In a second ruling rule in favor of the Health Care Worker Vaccine Mandate in a 5-4 decision. As was predicted, the High Court issued a split ruling, voting to overturn the OSHA vaccine regulations on businesses with over 100 employees, while upholding the requirement for health care workers institutions or facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding. “10 million health care workers do need to get vaccinated if they wish to keep their jobs which is really unfortunate, given the massive shortage that we have of healthcare workers right now in our hospitals,” Dhillon said (Fox News).

In descent: Justice Clarence Thomas filed a dissenting opinion that was joined by Alito, Gorsuch, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Thomas complained that the Biden administration “proposes to find virtually unlimited vaccination power, over millions of healthcare workers, in” what he described as a “hodgepodge” of statutes – “in definitional provisions, a saving clause, and a provision regarding long-term care facilities’ sanitation procedures.”

The Biden administration had not adequately explained, as far as Thomas was concerned, why Congress would have given HHS such power in relatively minor provisions. And indeed, Thomas noted, if Congress had wanted to give HHS the power to impose a vaccine mandate, “it would have done what it has done elsewhere — specifically authorize one” (Scotusblog).

From Senator Ted Cruz: …the Court’s ruling on vaccine mandates for healthcare workers is deeply disappointing. At a time when our healthcare workers are performing monumental feats to keep us healthy, this ruling is an affront to their liberty (Twitter).

From Dan McLaughlin: …the sole question in each case is whether Congress actually gave OSHA and CMS the power to mandate worker vaccinations. In NFIB, the OSHA statute says nothing about vaccines, or about diseases that enter the workplace merely because they are common in the general population. Instead, to use the “Emergency Temporary Standard” under the law, the statute requires proof (1) “that employees are exposed to grave danger from exposure to substances or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful or from new hazards,” and (2) that the “emergency standard is necessary to protect employees from such danger.”

The Court also noted that past emergency rules had regularly failed court challenges; five past OSHA ETS rules were struck down at least in part, and only one upheld in full (National Review).