Gordon Praises Court for Blocking Another Federal Vaccine Mandate

In a press release, Governor Mark Gordon applauded a decision by a federal court in Georgia that temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s vaccine requirement for federal contractors and subcontractors.

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"This is the third time the courts have heard our concerns about federal overreach and temporarily halted the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandates," Gordon said. "This Administration should take note and stand down from this effort. Attorney General Hill and I remain committed to protecting Wyoming’s people from these unconstitutional policies."

In an executive order in September, Biden put together a task force to look into what could be done to address COVID-19 concerns.

The task force recommended on Sept. 24 that federal contractors be vaccinated by Dec. 8, as well as requiring masking and social distancing, which is what triggered the lawsuit by Wyoming and other states on Oct. 29.

Because the suit was filed in October, Michael Pearlman, communications director for the governor's office, said the state has not yet utilized the $4 million that was allocated to it by the legislature for these types of lawsuits.

Wyoming has joined two other legal actions against federal vaccine requirements, including a lawsuit to halt the Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency temporary standard mandating vaccines for employees of private businesses with over 100 employees, and a lawsuit against a rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would impose a vaccine mandate on healthcare workers.

Both of those vaccine requirements have also been halted by judges, with a judge in St. Louis blocking the requirement for healthcare workers on Nov. 30, while a panel of three judges in New Orleans blocked the temporary OSHA mandate earlier in November.