Republican attorneys general from 21 states joined together to send a letter to President Joe Biden expressing their concerns with his administration’s decision to require federal contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Attorneys general from the following states signed the letter: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
In the letter, the top legal officers claim that the vaccine mandate for contractors “stands on shaky legal ground.” They also say the mandate is confusing and could worsen the supply-chain issues the U.S. is facing.
The group wrote that companies could be blacklisted for federal contracts unless they get their workers vaccinated on “an unworkable timeline.”
The group says it's encouraging Biden to stop implementing the mandate or delay the compliance date to allow time to provide clarity to agencies and federal contractors about what’s required of them.
As it stands, the mandate for federal contractors to get vaccinated goes into effect in December, and there isn’t an option for them to be tested weekly, unlike other groups.
While Republicans have threatened to sue over the federal government’s vaccine requirements, legal experts have toldThe Associated Press they believe the Biden administration has strong legal grounds to implement the mandates to protect public safety.