Republican officials in Idaho plan vaccination warrant trial

BOISE (AP) – Republican officials in Idaho are warning President Joe Biden of legal action if his proposed coronavirus vaccine requirement for about 100 million Americans goes into effect.

Governor Brad Little, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, Speaker of the House Scott Bedke and Senate pro tempore Chuck Winder said in a letter Friday that there appears to be no legal basis for the requirement.

“If you choose to continue to move forward in this direction, the State of Idaho will have no choice but to take the legal steps necessary to maintain its sovereignty, to control the excess of power of the federal bureaucracy and maintain the system of checks and balances. our Constitution guarantees, ”they wrote in the letter to Biden.

Many Republican lawmakers in Idaho are angry with the vaccination mandate announced last week. It requires employers of more than 100 workers to require workers to be vaccinated or tested for the virus every week.

Friday’s action follows a warning Thursday to Biden from 24 Republican attorneys general of an impending lawsuit over the vaccine’s mandate.

The letter from Idaho comes a day after Comprehensive State entered crisis care standards due to mostly unvaccinated COVID-19 patients filling hospitals. The standards allow health care providers to provide scarce resources, such as ventilators, to patients most likely to survive.

It also comes as Republicans vie for the post ahead of the Republican primary early next year, with far-right candidates and lawmakers calling for the House and Senate meeting to ban vaccine terms.

Friday’s letter cites three main reasons for opposing the vaccine’s mandate. He says the power to enforce immunization policies rests with the states, not the federal government.

It also indicates that the US Department of Labor does not have the power to issue the warrant.

Finally, the letter states that heads of state are in the best position to determine the appropriate responses.

“One size fits all for all federal solutions are unproductive and do not appropriately balance the interests and specific needs of states or businesses operating in our states,” the letter said.

On Thursday, the attorneys general of 24 states sent a letter to Biden threatening to sue the vaccine’s mandate. They come from South Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.