Biden Is Trying to Disguise a General Vaccine Mandate As a Workplace Safety Measure

Last week Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s top infectious disease adviser, said the federal government should consider requiring that domestic air travelers be vaccinated against COVID-19. “When you make vaccinations a requirement,” he explained, “that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated.”

Although requiring vaccination of airline passengers ostensibly would be aimed at making air travel safer, Fauci sees it as a way to boost the U.S. vaccination rate. The Biden administration sees its vaccination rule for private employers, which ostensibly is aimed at addressing a workplace hazard, the same way.

The contrast between that broader goal and the legal justification for the employer mandate is at the center of the debate about whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has the authority to impose it. That debate comes to the Supreme Court on Friday, when the justices will consider whether the mandate should be blocked until the challenges to it are resolved.

OSHA’s rule, which it published on November 5, demands that companies with 100 or more employees require them to be vaccinated or wear face masks and undergo weekly virus testing. When Biden announced that policy in September, he presented it as part of the administration’s plan for “vaccinating the unvaccinated.”

MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle called OSHA’s mandate “the ultimate work-around for the Federal govt to require vaccinations.” White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain retweeted Ruhle’s comment, reinforcing the impression that the rule aims to reduce the overall impact of COVID-19 by pressuring Americans to get vaccinated. – READ MORE