Georgia Leaders Declare Victory After U.S. Judge Blocks Biden’s Vaccine, Mask Mandate
“If the Executive branch is allowed to usurp the power of the Legislative branch to make laws, then this country is no longer a democracy—it is a monarchy.”
In a legal war against alleged federal authoritative overreach, Georgia leaders are declaring victory in the state’s latest battle surrounding Covid-19 vaccinations for early-education instructors and masking regulations for toddlers—now blocked by a federal judge.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp kicked off the new year with a celebratory tweet after learning a federal Louisiana judge issued a ruling blocking the U.S. president from requiring teachers in the federally funded Head Start early education program to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
“Another win in our fight against the Biden administration’s unconstitutional mandates and a victory for our early care and learning classrooms,” Kemp tweeted. “Georgia’s children and their families deserve better than government dictating their lives and choices.”
On behalf of the state of Georgia, Kemp teamed with Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to join 23 other states in filing a complaint against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administration for Children and Families regarding the Head Start employee-vaccine and student-masking mandate.
‘It Is a Monarchy’
Like Kemp, Carr took to Twitter on January 1 to applaud the preliminary injunction issued that day by Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana blocking the mandate.
“In response to our lawsuit, a federal court in LA has temporarily stopped the vaccine and masking mandate for Head Start programs in GA and 23 other states,” Carr tweeted. “In part, this mandate would have required that Head Start students two years and older be masked effective immediately.”
According to Doughty’s ruling, the Biden administration unlawfully bypassed Congress when it ordered workers in Head Start programs be vaccinated by January 31 and students two years old and older be masked when indoors or in close contact outdoors.
“If the Executive branch is allowed to usurp the power of the Legislative branch to make laws, then this country is no longer a democracy—it is a monarchy,” wrote Doughty in the injunction.
This isn’t the first time Doughty has issued a ruling blocking a Biden administration vaccine mandate. In November, the judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking a federal healthcare worker vaccine mandate.
“There is no question that mandating a vaccine to 10.3 million healthcare workers is something that should be done by Congress, not a government agency,” Doughty wrote in the November 30 ruling.
‘Abide by the Federal Laws’
Turns out, Doughty isn’t alone in his decision to halt the Biden administration’s Head Start vaccine and mask mandate.
On December 31, Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a similar preliminary injunction, noting federal agencies can’t act without congressional authorization.
“The ‘public interest is in having governmental agencies abide by the federal laws that govern their existence and operations,’” Hendrix’s ruling reads. “Here, the Court finds that there is a substantial likelihood that the Secretary issued the Rule unlawfully. And generally, there is ‘no public interest in the perpetuation of unlawful agency action.’”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated the ruling via Twitter later that day.
“I just halted another illegal fed vax & mask mandate,” Paxton tweeted. “Thanks to my suit (first of its kind in the nation), Prez Brandon is barred from using the Head Start Program to force vax & masks in TX—both of which this Admin embarrassingly admitted don’t stop COVID anyway!”
From: Daily Report