Biden's Vaccine Mandate Battle: Alaska Joins Texas in Lawsuit Against the Administration After Requiring National Guard's Vaccination

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy announced on Thursday that he is joining Texas Governor Greg Abbott's lawsuit against the Biden administration over the federal vaccine mandate concerning the National Guard.

The lawsuit was specifically filed against the U.S. Department of Defense as the agency mandated the vaccine for the National Guard of every state, The Hill reported.

Fox News noted that the complaint from the Alaska governor was filed in a Texas federal court, claiming that the vaccine mandate on the National Guard undercuts their role as governors of their respective state.

"This is not a case demanding a position of a pro- or anti-vaccine, nor is it a case that challenges any aspect of the federal government's authority over National Guardsmen once that federal authority has been properly established," the complaint noted.

In a statement, Alaska Governor Dunleavy said that the responsibilities of protecting the freedom of the National Guardsmen rest on the shoulders of their respective governors.

"The federal government has no authority to make health decisions for National Guard members who are at work under state authority," Dunleavy underscored.

Texas Governor on Biden's National Guard Vaccine Mandate

Alaska's complaint came after Texas Governor Greg Abbott filed the lawsuit against the Biden administration over the same issue earlier in January.

The lawsuit was one of the litigations the Texas governor filed against the current administration over vaccine mandates, Texas Tribune reported. The said litigations filed by Texas include vaccine mandates for health care workers, large businesses, and federal contractors.

"As long as I am your commander-in-chief, I will not tolerate efforts to compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine," Abbott wrote in a letter addressed to Major General Tracy Norris, the adjutant general of Texas National Guard.

Abbott furthered that the vaccine mandate from the Defense Department "conflicts" with the order he gave his constituents.

Aside from the governors of Alaska and Texas, Governor Kevin Stitt from Oklahoma also filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over similar concerns. However, a federal judge rejected Stitt's lawsuit in December.

Several governors also resorted to other ways to set their national guards free from the vaccine mandate issued by the Department of Defense.

It can be recalled that governors of Alaska and Texas, as well as the governors from Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Wyoming, were among the officials who issued a letter to the Pentagon in December asking the agency to rescind their vaccine mandates on the national guards.

Biden Admin's Vaccine Mandate on National Guard

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for the entire military in late August last year.

Reports mentioned that Air National Guard members had until December 31 to be inoculated, while Army National Guard Members were given until June 30 to be vaccinated.

In Texas, more than 220 Air National Guard members and at least 40 percent of the Texas Army National Guard do not want to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, 90 percent of Alaska's Air and Army National Guards are seeking vaccine exemptions and an undisclosed number of its members are refusing to be inoculated against COVID-19.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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