Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday he would challenge the Biden administration over any vaccine mandates President Joe Biden may implement in the future.
“Let’s not have Biden come in and effectively take away — threaten to take away — the jobs of people who have been working hard throughout this entire pandemic,” DeSantis said during a news conference in Fort Myers. “I am offended that a police officer could potentially lose their job.”
The Republican governor, widely seen as a potential 2024 presidential contender, said he would seek to fight any Biden administration requirements through the courts and with legislation offered by the state Legislature.
VACCINE MANDATE CRITICS LAY IN WAIT FOR BIDEN ROLLOUT
“I know Biden is trying to force this on everybody,” DeSantis said at the press event. “One, I think it’s your choice, I don’t think you should get fired over this issue, and we want to protect people’s jobs. But two, it is absolutely is going to have a negative impact on the economy,”
Biden announced in early September the development of rules that require companies with more than 100 employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested weekly, as well as mandates for federal workers and healthcare providers. The employer vaccine mandate could be finalized as early as next week, NBC reported.
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DeSantis is already cracking on local public health orders, school district mask mandates, and pandemic protocols in the workplace.
The Florida Health Department fined Leon County for violating the state’s ban on vaccine mandates after the county fired 14 employees for not complying with its policy, DeSantis announced on Tuesday.
