COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Biden administration’s proposed mandate to require workers of federal contractors to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or test weekly for the virus has been temporarily halted by a federal judge. 

What You Need To Know

  • The attorneys general of three states won an injunction against the Biden administration

  • The suit was against a Biden administration mandate that federal contractors provide proof of COVID vaccination or weekly testing

  • The injunction means the mandate has been halted in the states of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee

  • The Biden administration lost a separate injunction requiring health care workers to get vaccinated

The announcement came as a separate ruling put a temporary halt to a mandate for health care workers to get vaccinated in 10 states.

Federal contractors had faced a January deadline to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or face weekly testing. The lawsuit was brought forth by Ohio Attorney General David Yost and the attorneys general of Kentucky and Tennessee. 

"This is not about vaccines, it's about the mandates," Yost said. "The judge's opinion clearly states that and it has been our position all along that the president cannot impose these mandates on the people."

The ruling does not put the issue to rest. It simply means that the mandate is off in the states of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee until it can get a full hearing. It’s unknown whether this will cause the mandate to be postponed nationally.

“This is not a case about whether vaccines are effective,” U.S. Court Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove said. “They are. Nor is this a case about whether the government, at some level, and in some circumstances, can require citizens to obtain vaccines. It can. 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? In all likelihood, the answer to that question is no.”

Yost claimed that the vaccine mandate for federal contractors would cause Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees to go free. According to ICE, five Ohio jails also serve as detention facilities for immigration enforcement.

“We have sheriffs that are going to lose a lot of talented deputies to this mandate, and they’ll ultimately give up their contracts to house ICE detainees rather than see that happen,” Yost said. “Forcing that kind of choice on people who dedicate their lives to keeping our communities safe creates a needless situation in which everyone loses.”

The Biden administration has defended vaccine mandates as both constitutional and good for the economy. 

“As we’ve seen with businesses – large and small – across all sectors of our economy, the overwhelming majority of Americans choose to get vaccinated,” Biden said in a statement earlier this month. “There have been no ‘mass firings’ and worker shortages because of vaccination requirements. Despite what some predicted and falsely assert, vaccination requirements have broad public support.”