Thursday, December 9th, 2021
Displeasure with the president’s course
Senate votes against Biden’s vaccination plans
The US President’s plan to introduce compulsory vaccinations for companies with more than 100 employees has met with criticism in the Senate. In addition to the Republicans, MPs from within their own ranks are voting against the rule. But that doesn’t stop Biden.
The government of US President Joe Biden is also encountering resistance in Congress with its efforts to ensure extensive vaccination requirements in the fight against the corona pandemic. The US Senate voted on Wednesday evening (local time) with the votes of the Republicans, supported by two Democrats, to overturn Biden’s vaccination requirements for large companies.
In order to actually abolish the compulsory vaccination, a corresponding vote of the other Congress Chamber, the House of Representatives, would be necessary – which is considered very unlikely. And even if both chambers of congress speak out against the vaccination rule, the president could veto the resolution. So the advance does not really have a chance. But he shows some displeasure with Biden’s course on the issue, even among individual party colleagues of the democratic president.
Specifically, it is about a regulation for companies with more than 100 employees. As of January 4th, they will have to require their employees to either be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus or to have weekly negative tests. There is also legal resistance to this: at the beginning of November, a federal appeals court in New Orleans suspended the implementation of a corresponding order by the government in Washington.
Two Democratic Senators, Joe Manchin and Jon Tester, sided with the Republicans in favor of the Senate vote on Wednesday night, helping them gain a slim majority. It is very unlikely that the resolution could also succeed in the Democratic-dominated House of Representatives. And even if a majority were achieved in both chambers, Biden would veto it, as his spokeswoman Jen Psaki made clear in advance on Tuesday.