CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction on President Joe Biden’s proposed vaccine mandate for federal contractors on Tuesday.
Led by Georgia, several states including West Virginia challenged the mandate that was set to go into effect at the beginning of 2022.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office called it “another important victory for personal freedom,” in a news release.
“I’m pleased that the courts continue to take a stand against unlawful vaccine mandates and side with personal freedoms,” Morrisey said in a release. “All citizens – including federal contractors and their employees – have the right to make their own decisions about whether to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Morrisey then took to Twitter on Tuesday saying, “WV, Six States Block Biden Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors.
“We now have an injunction from a Georgia federal judge against the federal government contractor mandate-this is another win for personal freedom!
“We are now 3-0 against the mandates.”
WV, Six States Block Biden Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors.
We now have an injunction from a Georgia federal judge against the federal government contractor mandate-this is another win for personal freedom!
We are now 3-0 against the mandates.
— Patrick Morrisey (@MorriseyWV) December 7, 2021
NBC News reported that the Biden administration mandate applies to roughly a quarter of the U.S. workforce and affects companies that do business with the federal government, including Lockheed Martin Corp., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.‘s Google, and General Motors Co.
The Attorneys General alleged President Biden and the other federal defendants acted unlawfully in many ways. These allegations include overstepping their constitutional authority, violating the separation of powers as set forth in the Tenth Amendment, and violating the Spending Clause of the United States Constitution, a release said.
Other states involved included Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, and Utah.