JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – On Friday, November 5, Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a petition for review with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the Biden vaccine mandate.
“In the President’s own announcement of this misguided mandate, he notes that 70 percent of adult Americans are fully vaccinated,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “The number of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continues to drop. But President Biden is blindly determined to reach 100% vaccination, regardless of the cost in jobs, economic growth, and liberty. President Biden’s vaccine mandates are an affront to foundational American principles, and I will continue to fight them in court.”
The petition was filed by Attorney General Fitch, as well as Attorneys General from Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Utah and seven private employers who would be impacted by the mandate, including Gulf Coast Restaurant Group in Mississippi, which is represented by the Mississippi Justice Institute (MJI).
On Saturday, in response to this petition and others, a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the mandate pending further action by the court, finding, “the petitions give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate.”
The mandate at issue here imposes a requirement that all employers with 100 or more employees ensure all employees are either vaccinated or tested on at a least a weekly basis. In addition, Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a complaint on Thursday, with the Attorneys General of Louisiana and Indiana, challenging the mandate that all federal contractors or subcontractors be vaccinated.