Little: State may fight Biden vaccine mandate

Gov. Brad Little wrote Wednesday that the state of Idaho is exploring legal action to stop President Joe Biden’s “unprecedented government overreach into the private sector with his new COVID-19 plan.”

Little said he is working with legal counsel and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden on legal options to protect the rights of business owners and their employees. 

“I have been consistent that government should stay out of decisions involving employers and their employees as much as possible. I’ve advocated for and championed fewer government regulations and mandates on business,” he wrote in an email message.

Biden said last week that he instructed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to draft rules mandating that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly.

Little said he was also concerned with Biden’s tone in his message to the American people with his new plan.

“It is wrong for President Biden to dismiss the concerns of millions of Americans and tell governors who represent Americans that he will use his powers as president to get them out of the way,” Little wrote. “This is not leadership. When President Biden took office, he promised to do his best to unify our country, and he has only driven us further apart. President Biden is out of touch, and his mandates only add to the divisiveness within our country.”

Little continues to urge Idahoans to choose to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and take steps to protect themselves and others from the virus “so our kids can stay in school and for the continued health and prosperity of the people of Idaho.”