Over the last few months, South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson has been leading the fight against a barrage of constitutionally dubious Covid-19 vaccine mandates issued by the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden.
On Tuesday, Wilson scored another win in this fight when a U.S. district court judge in the southern district of Georgia issued an order (.pdf) enjoining the federal government from “enforcing the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors in all covered contracts in any state or territory.”
In other words, this judge has struck down the federal contractor/ subcontractor mandate nationwide.
“Even in times of crisis this court must preserve the rule of law and ensure that all branches of government act within the bounds of their constitutionally granted authorities,” judge R. Stan Baker wrote in his order, concluding that the entities suing Biden would “likely succeed in their claim that the president exceed the authorization given to him by congress.”
Wilson was ebullient.
“Abuse of power by the Biden administration has been stopped cold again,” Wilson said in a statement. “The rule of law has prevailed and liberty is protected. When the president oversteps his authority the law is thankfully there to halt his misuse of power.”
Wilson is chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and has helped organize several of the multi-state legal challenges to the various vaccine mandates coming out of the Biden administration.
In fact upon being named RAGA chairman last month, Wilson specifically vowed to work “against the expansion of federal power and unconstitutional actions being implemented by congress and the Biden administration.”
His challenges are faring well in the federal court system …
On November 30, U.S. district court judge Terry A. Doughty of western Louisiana struck down the Biden administration’s vaccination mandate impacting health care workers. That same day, U.S. district court judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of eastern Kentucky issued a ruling blocking the Biden administration from enforcing its mandate on federal contractors – although his order only applied to a three-state area.
Baker’s order blocks the contractor mandate in all fifty states.
The federal contractor/ subcontractor issue came to the fore in South Carolina recently, as the state’s flagship university announced it was enforcing this mandate – potentially impacting up to 1,700 employees at the school. The mandate would have required these employees to provide the school with proof of their completed vaccinations no later than January 4, 2022.
As for the business mandate, the U.S. fifth circuit court of appeals issued an order (.pdf) staying Biden’s business mandate – citing “grave statutory and constitutional issues” with the order.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: FITSNews)
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children. And yes, he has LOTS of hats (including that Chicago Blackhawks’ lid pictured above).
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