GOP governors rip Biden over new mandate, threaten legal action By Samuel Chamberlain for New York Post
Republican governors and other lawmakers blasted President Biden on Thursday after he announced a nationwide vaccinate-or-test requirement for businesses with at least 100 employees — an edict that could affect two-thirds of American workers.
In remarks from the White House, the president said the Labor Department will force those businesses to require staffers to get inoculated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly for the disease. Businesses that don’t follow the new rule will be subject to hefty fines.
“This is not about freedom, or personal choice,” Biden said at one point. “It’s about protecting yourself and those around you — the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love … We cannot allow these actions to stand in the way of protecting the large majority of Americans who have done their part, who want to get back to life as normal.”
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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem fired the first rhetorical shot on Twitter, writing before Biden spoke: “South Dakota will stand up to defend freedom. @JoeBiden see you in court.”
“This is not a power that is delegated to the federal government,” Noem told Fox News’ “Hannity” Thursday night. “This is a power for states to decide. In South Dakota, we’re going to be free and we’re going to make sure that we don’t overstep our authority. So we will take action. My legal team is already working, and we will defend and protect our people from this unlawful mandate.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also chimed in on social media, writing, “I will pursue every legal option available to the state of Georgia to stop this blatantly unlawful overreach by the Biden administration.”
In Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey issued a statement decrying what he called Biden’s “dictatorial approach” as “wrong” and “un-American.”
“COVID-19 is a contagious disease, it is still with us and it will be for the foreseeable future,” Ducey wrote. “President Biden’s solution is hammering down on private businesses and individual freedoms in an unprecedented and dangerous way … How many workers will be displaced? How many kids kept out of classrooms? How many businesses fined?”
