A federal court has denied an emergency motion from the Biden-Harris regime’s Department of Justice, attempting to stop a temporary block on vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. The preliminary injunction on the government’s mandate was initiated by the court after a coalition of ten states in early November filed a lawsuit to terminate the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ vaccine mandate on healthcare workers.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt told the press,
“The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Department of Justice’s motion for stay pending appeal in our lawsuit against the vaccine mandate on healthcare workers, meaning our injunction will stay in place.”
The cryptic ruling from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals offered no explanation for the ruling, merely stating “Appellant’s Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal is denied.” A dissent from a single Judge was also noted: “Judge Kelly would grant the motion.”
According to Forbes,
“The order applies only to Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, and is distinct from a separate court order from a federal judge in Louisiana that blocked the mandate nationwide.
U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp in the Eastern District of Missouri ruled November 29 the vaccine mandate was “arbitrary and capricious,” arguing it should be blocked because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) did not have the authority to issue its vaccine mandate without congressional approval.
Schelp disputed the federal government’s argument that the mandate was an “emergency” rule that could be imposed without congressional approval, arguing the government’s delay in implementing the rule after vaccines first became available suggested it wasn’t an emergency.”
NEW this morning: The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Department of Justice's motion for stay pending appeal in our lawsuit against the vaccine mandate on healthcare workers, meaning our injunction will stay in place.
See the order –> pic.twitter.com/L7ClJgonzR
— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) December 13, 2021
At the time the injunction was put into play in November, AG Schmitt said in a statement,
“Earlier today, the United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, issued a preliminary injunction halting the Biden Administration from enforcing its vaccine mandate on healthcare workers. This is a huge victory for healthcare workers in Missouri and across the country, including rural hospitals who were facing near-certain collapse due to this mandate,” Schmitt said at the time. “While today’s ruling is a victory, there’s more work to be done, and I will keep fighting to push back on this unprecedented federal overreach.”
The Biden-Harris Regime Responds To Federal Court Slap-Down
The Biden-Harris regime’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced after the November injunction that it was suspending the enforcement of the mandate pending the judicial review. In the published memo, the CMS stated,
Survey and Enforcement of the Vaccine Requirement for Health Care Staff in Medicare- and Medicaid-certified Providers and Suppliers Suspended While Court Ordered Injunctions are in Effect: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not enforce the new rule regarding vaccination of health care workers or requirements for policies and procedures in certified Medicare/Medicaid providers and suppliers (including nursing facilities, hospitals, dialysis facilities and all other provider types covered by the rule) while there are court-ordered injunctions in place prohibiting enforcement of this provision.
“On November 29 and November 30, 2021, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued preliminary injunctions against the implementation and enforcement of the Interim Final Rule against Medicare-and-Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers,” the memo said. “Between the two of them, these injunctions cover all states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Territories.”
“While CMS remains confident in its authority to protect the health and safety of patients in facilities certified by the Medicare and Medicaid programs, it has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of this rule pending future developments in the litigation,” the memo continued. “Accordingly, while these preliminary injunctions are in effect, surveyors must not survey providers for compliance with the requirements of the Interim Final Rule.”
