Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said Thursday that he plans to support his Republican colleagues in their effort to nix President Biden’s vaccine mandate for private businesses.
In his statement, Manchin said “Let me be clear, I do not support any government vaccine mandate on private businesses”. ‘That’s why I have cosponsored and will strongly support a bill to overturn the federal government vaccine mandate for private businesses”.
“I have long said we should incentivize, not penalize, private employers whose responsibility it is to protect their employees from COVID-19,” he added.
” have personally had both vaccine doses and a booster shot and I continue to urge every West Virginian to get vaccinated themselves,” Manchin explained.
The resolution of disapproval of the mandate is supposed to be voted on in the Senate next week.
The effort is supported by all 50 Republicans, so Manchin’s vote will give them support to pass it. The resolution will then move to the house and Biden’s office.
The resolution was introduced earlier this year under the Congressional Review Act. Senator Mike Braun, who is leading the effort, said “President Biden’s unconstitutional vaccine mandate for private businesses is not a partisan issue: it jeopardizes the freedoms and livelihoods of Americans in all 50 states”.
“I hope that more Democratic Senators and Representatives will follow Senator Manchin’s strong lead and stand up against this federal overreach that will wreak havoc on our recovering economy and trample on the rights of millions of Americans,” he added.
