Gov. Reynolds to take legal action against Biden administration’s vaccine mandate

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Gov. Reynolds on Thursday announced the state will be taking immediate legal action to challenge the Biden Administration’s rule on vaccine mandates.

It comes after the Biden Administration’s announcement that the vaccine mandate will require workers at companies with 100 or more employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 or get tested weekly. Employees would have to be vaccinated by Jan. 4.

In a statement, Reynolds called the action “dangerous and unprecedented steps to insert the federal government further into our lives.”

“Biden’s plan pits Americans against Americans, while forcing them to choose between making a living or standing up for their personal beliefs. Biden’s actions will only worsen the existing workforce shortages and supply chain issues that hinder our economic recovery.

I believe the vaccine is the best defense against COVID-19, but I also firmly believe in Iowans’ right to make healthcare decisions based on what’s best for themselves and their families, and I remain committed to protecting those freedoms. President Biden should do the same.”

Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver also released a statement saying he looks forward to “swift and expansive suspension of the rule.”

“Today’s employee vaccine mandate rule from the Biden Administration defines the excessive federal overreach he committed to implement when he announced this rule by press conference in a feeble attempt to distract from his historic failure as Commander in Chief in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the Biden Administration appears to have delayed this rule purposefully in a futile effort to avoid political fallout in the off-year elections this week.

Iowa has significant workforce needs and creating more obstacles to work is the opposite policy needed to help our economy grow. Unfortunately, Joe Biden is more focused on more government, more taxes, and more intrusion into the everyday life of Iowans than he is about advancing policies to address the country’s workforce needs.”

Gov. Reynolds signed a bill into law last month allowing employees to seek medical and religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates.