The Senate elected to block Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses with over 100 employees by a vote of 52-48, with Manchin and Tester being the only members of the Democratic caucus to vote in favor of the legislation. The bill is virtually certain to never become law, as Democrats are unlikely to take it up in the House. In addition, even if the bill were somehow passed by Congress, Biden could still neutralize it with what would likely be an override-proof veto.
The mandate, which was expected to be implemented by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on January 4 before being hit with several legal challenges, requires that employees of large private companies either be vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who introduced the bill to repeal the mandate, said that Wednesday’s “bipartisan vote” meant that Biden must “abandon this overreach now.”
“I have always supported a vaccine mandate for federal employees and the military because maintaining the essential services and military readiness the federal government provides is a matter of national importance,” Manchin said in a statement obtained by Newsweek. “However, I do not support any government vaccine mandate for private businesses. It is not the place of the federal government to tell private business owners how to protect their employees from COVID-19 and operate their businesses.”
“We should incentivize, not penalize, private employers to encourage vaccination among their employees,” he added. “That is why I cosponsored the bill and voted today to overturn the federal government vaccine mandate for private businesses. I have received both vaccine doses and a booster shot, and I continue to urge every West Virginian and American to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
Manchin’s vote in favor of the Republican-backed bill is one of several recent moves in defiance of his party and the president. The West Virginia Democrat has also become a significant obstacle to hopes of passing Biden’s Build Back Better bill, although he was instrumental in the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Biden signed into law last month.
During a Fox News interview with Neil Cavuto on Wednesday, Tester explained that he was opposing Biden’s mandate because he had “heard a lot” from Montana business leaders who argued that the requirement would “put them in a heck of a bind” and he thought “they should have some relief.” Tester said that he is encouraging vaccination, noting that he and his family had been vaccinated, while insisting that he would still back mandates for people like “the health care folks.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.
