U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Senate voted Wednesday to block President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate on private employers in the latest blow to his push to flex federal power to boost vaccinations in the U.S.
The measure to block the mandate heads to the Democratic-held House. It faces a tougher path to passage in the House, and the Biden administration has threatened a veto if it reaches the president’s desk.
Because the mandate itself has a slim chance of becoming law, the measure to overturn it will have little practical effect. A federal court has already halted the administration’s Covid vaccination and testing requirements for private businesses with 100 or more employees.
Even so, the vote underscores resistance to the Biden policy even among Democrats who represent red states. It reflects the White House’s struggle to increase U.S. vaccinations and booster shots as the highly mutated omicron variant — which has shown the potential to evade protection offered by a two-dose vaccine regimen — starts to gain a foothold around the country.
The Senate approved the measure in a 52-48 vote. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., joined every Republican in supporting it. It needed only a simple majority to pass under the Congressional Review Act, a process that allows Congress to overturn rules made by federal agencies.
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