Pentagon Stonewalls Probe Into COVID Vaccine Mandate
The Pentagon has repeatedly stonewalled a congressional investigation into the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for military members and is withholding information about the number of active-duty service members who could be expelled from the military for refusing the vaccine.
For four months, Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis), ranking member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has been pressing the Defense Department to turn over information related to the military’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, including the total number of shots administered across all service branches. The Pentagon has broken its promise to provide this information on two separate occasions, generating accusations the Biden administration is withholding this data from Congress.
“DoD’s consistent failure to respond to my requests in a timely manner is unacceptable particularly when my questions relate to the health and well-being of service members,” Johnson wrote in his third request for information, sent to the Pentagon on Thursday and obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The Biden administration’s refusal to be transparent with Congress about the military vaccine mandate is reaching a critical juncture as many active-duty military members face expulsion for refusing the shot. Around 40,000 active service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines face expulsion for challenging the vaccine mandate, though the number could be higher or lower, according to unofficial estimates by congressional investigators. Johnson and Republican colleagues in both the House and Senate are warning that the vaccine requirement could cripple the military’s readiness as conflicts brew in Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.- READ MORE
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