Republican governors gear up for vaccine mandate fight

South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said he would fight the Biden administration “to the gates of hell” over its COVID-19 vaccination rules that could affect roughly 100 million Americans. The Republican National Committee announced it will sue the federal government, and the governors of Georgia, South Dakota, and Texas have also threatened legal action. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson supports vaccination but said the government has no right to force businesses to require them. Some unions have also expressed anger over President Joe Biden’s sweeping plan.

Has Biden responded? “If these governors won’t help us beat the pandemic, I’ll use my power as president to get them out of the way,” he said on Thursday. At a middle school visit on Friday, Biden called GOP governors “cavalier” about protecting community and children’s health. The administration also doubled fines for airline passengers who do not follow COVID-19 masking rules and instructed entertainment venues to require vaccination for events. Federal workers and contractors can receive religious exemptions from the vaccine mandate. Otherwise, they are expected to comply: The administration is not allowing weekly testing as an alternative.

Dig deeper: Read Steve West’s report in Liberties about religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine.