Today marked another victory against Brandates (sound okay?) after a Louisiana U.S. district judge made an impactful ruling for healthcare workers.
In a lawsuit led by Republican Louisiana AG Jeff Landry, 14 states sued the Biden Administration over the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services COVID-19 jab requirement for staffers.
Louisiana Western District U.S. Judge Terry Doughty made an identical ruling to Monday’s decision by Missouri U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp.
However, Judge Doughty took things a step further in his ruling and included a nationwide injunction.
A U.S. district judge in Louisiana has blocked a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, arguing that President Joe Biden's administration doesn't have the authority to bypass Congress in issuing such a measure.
— Clarion Ledger (@clarionledger) November 30, 2021
Louisiana federal judge blocks nationwide COVID vaccine mandate for health care workers https://t.co/RKp8W7RMhS
— MontgomeryAdvertiser (@MGMAdvertiser) November 30, 2021
BREAKING: Louisiana federal judge blocks nationwide COVID vaccine mandate for health care workers. Huge win for freedom! 🚨🚨🚨https://t.co/UZLOjFgZjq
— TN House Republicans (@tnhousegop) November 30, 2021
Trump nominee, Judge Terry Doughty, notes that ruling on Louisiana et al motion for preliminary injunction of CMS vaccine mandate will be issued on or before December 5. pic.twitter.com/nLhS4ijPZ7
— Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (@AAPSonline) November 30, 2021
Per the Clarion Ledger:
Doughty ruled on the lawsuit led by Republican Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and joined by 13 other states, but Doughty added a nationwide injunction in his ruling.
In his decision, Doughty wrote the Biden Administration doesn’t have the authority to bypass Congress in issuing such a mandate.
“If the executive branch is allowed to usurp the power of the legislative branch to make laws, two of the three powers conferred by our Constitution would be in the same hands,” he wrote. “If human nature and history teach anything, it is that civil liberties face grave risks when governments proclaim indefinite states of emergency.
“During a pandemic such as this one, it is even more important to safeguard the separation of powers set forth in our Constitution to avoid erosion of our liberties.”
The emergency regulation issued Nov. 4 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would have required staff at providers that participate in the programs to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 6 and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022.
It would have covered more than 17 million health care workers, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Earlier this month the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans blocked a broader Biden administration mandate that businesses with more than 100 workers require employees to be vaccinated by Jan. 4 or wear masks and be tested weekly. Landry was also the lead.
Any appeals of Doughty’s Tuesday decision would also go to the 5th Circuit.
Judge Doughty, a nominee of President Trump, acknowledged the case “will ultimately be decided by a higher court than this one.”
“However, it is important to preserve the status quo in this case,” Doughty wrote. “The liberty interests of the unvaccinated requires nothing less.”
Judge Doughty’s ruling comes moments after U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove blocked Biden’s COVID-19 jab mandate on federal contractors.
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