A federal judge has temporarily blocked U.S. President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for health workers at Medicare and Medicaid in 10 states.

The preliminary injunction issued on Monday applies to a group of suing states, namely Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Wyoming, as well as North and South Dakota, according to KATC News report.

Federal Judge Matthew Schelp of the Eastern District of Missouri said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid had no clear authority from Congress to impose the vaccine mandate for health care providers. He said that it would be a burden for healthcare facilities when it comes to providing services, care, and saving lives, according to a Business Insider report.

Schelp is a nominee of former U.S. President Donald Trump. He was nominated to the bench in 2019.

The case is among the lawsuits that challenge the vaccine mandate. Schelp said that Congress did not clearly authorize CMS to enact the politically, "federalism-altering," and "boundary-pushing" mandate, according to an Axios report.

The federal judge said the vaccine mandate represents the "heavy hand of the federal government."

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Biden COVID Mandate and Lawsuits

The federal rule mandates COVID vaccinations for more than 17 million workers nationwide in around 76,000 health care facilities and home health care providers that get funding from the government health programs, according to an ABC News Go report.

Biden's administration contends federal rules supersede state policies prohibiting vaccine mandates and are essential to slowing the pandemic.

Meanwhile, CMS officials had no immediate comment about the preliminary injunction. The Department of Justice defended the rule and refused to comment on the matter.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt was the one to spearhead the lawsuit. He said that the ruling delays the overreach of power by those who are using "the coronavirus as a tool" for control over people.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu lauded the court ruling, saying that nursing homes were at risk of closure if the mandate remained.

Over half of the states across the U.S. filed or joined lawsuits earlier in November opposing a vaccine mandate for employees of large companies.

Most of the lawsuits were from Republican-led states.

On November 23, the White House said that the federal government's 3.5 million employees nationwide had achieved "96.5 percent compliance." Meanwhile, 92 percent of federal workers have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

A federal appeals court described the vaccine mandate as "fatally flawed" and "staggeringly overboard."

The court of appeals noted that the requirements exceed the authority of the federal government and raise "constitutional concerns," according to a CNBC report.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration developed the requirements under the emergency authority established by Congress.

The Biden administration had asked the court on Monday to halt the temporary pause on the vaccine mandate, saying that it would likely cost lives.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Full briefing: Judge's ruling halts federal vaccine mandate for health care workers in 10 states - from KSDK News